On the afternoon of 28th February, a team of five Year 9 students participated in a Lancashire Schools’ debate which was organised by the Lancashire SACRE and held at the prestigious County Hall in Preston.
During the event three motions were rigorously debated:
“If religious literacy is fundamental to challenging extremism, should the government remove the right to withdraw from RE?”
“Schools should be secular; there is no place for RE in the modern curriculum” and
“In modern Britain, Religious Education is too important to leave just to parents.”
Students from different schools presented short prepared arguments to support and oppose the motions, as well as respond to points made within the debate. At the end of each debate students were invited to vote on the motion, as individuals.
During the first debate, Elspeth Tolan presented a thoughtful and well-researched argument opposing the motion. In the second debate the whole team actively participated, especially focusing on the role of faith primary schools in society.
In the final debate of the afternoon, we continued to show good knowledge on the subject and the team contributed some thought-provoking ideas. The afternoon was a new and challenging experience for the whole team, but it was an amazing opportunity and we are all hoping to participate in further debates in the future.
Katherine Taylor
Year 9
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