Wednesday, May 9th, 12.30: The eight speakers of the debate team leave Noisy for Vincennes, both excited and anxious for their first participation in the selection round of the FDA High School Tournament. They know ten teams (Camille See, Louis Le Grand, Henri IV, Sévigné, Berlioz, Lycée International de l’Est Parisien, Massillon, Ecole Alsacienne, Fénelon and Claude Monnet) are participating in this selection round and they know there will be two rounds, each team debating twice.

They know what to expect because they have practiced and because they saw how Paris II, Panthéon-Assas won the finals of the Higher Education Tournament when they went to the Hôtel de Lassay at the Assemblée Nationale earlier in the year, but still, this feels like playing in major leagues.

13.45: Time for the first debate, the one they have prepared with the help of the whole team. They have known the motion « THB struggle is essential to happiness »for a week, they are the government, the students from Henri IV are the opposition.

14.45: The members of the jury come back with their decision: The LIEP wins with 35 points!

15.00: No time to waste. The motion for the next debate has been drawn: « THW live forever ». The LIEP will be the opposition and Hector Berlioz, the government. They start brainstorming, they know they can count on the whole debate team and call upon the WhatsApp group, they organize their ideas. They have to be fast and efficient, they only have an hour.

16.00: The semi-improvised debate starts. They give it their all.

16.45: The members of the jury come back with their decision: The LIEP wins with 40 points!

17.15: Results of the selection round are announced:

Four teams won one debate:
Ecole Alsacienne
Fénelon
Louis Le Grand
Berlioz

Three teams won their two debates:
Sévigné (28+32= 60)
Camille See (33+37=70)
the LIEP (40+ 35= 75)

So the LIEP debate team not only won its two debates,
it also got the best score of the 10 teams!

The Finals will therefore be 
Camille See and Lycée International de l’Est Parisien

They will debate at the Irish Embassy on May 30th

This was such an intense afternoon and the results such a joy!

Congratulations to the whole debating team for
their impressive work and determination,
their amazing team spirit and efficient collaborative work,
their energy and enthusiasm
and the oratory skills of their speakers.

Our speakers’ on-the-spot impressions

« We weren’t going there thinking we would win the selection round but we went there and we just did it », « I was happily surprised at the great atmosphere », « Great experience », « Unexpected », « We came here, we did the job, determination is stronger than anything », « Very nice surprise »