On Tuesday night, the Christ Church team of Year 12s Will Adamson, Chris Drok, Ben Gammell, Patrick Mackenzie and Richard O’Halloran stood up against Shenton College in the hotly-debated senior grand final. The two schools debated whether the Australian Government should take responsibility from the states for healthcare.

Christ Church were victors in the high-quality debate and Richard O’Halloran was named best speaker. With the WA Debating League open to all high schools in the State, this is a fantastic achievement by Richard and the rest of the team.

The 2009 season also showcased an excellent all-round effort by all Christ Church debaters. The School qualified for the finals in each of the three age groups – novice (Year 7 and 8), junior (Year 9 and 10) and senior (Year 11 and 12) – with one of the novice teams and three of the senior teams winning their divisions.

Richard said the season had been a rewarding experience for the debating fraternity and he was proud of all the boys’ efforts from every division. “Not only was much achieved by the many teams that entered the competitions, but there were many enriching experiences to be had,” he said.

In receiving the trophy at assembly yesterday morning, Richard took the opportunity to thank those involved in coordinating the debating programme at Christ Church. “Ms Crawford has dedicated so much time and effort in supporting the teams, but also co-ordinating the many divisions that Christ Church, as the host school, needed to provide for. She has been most ably assisted by Mrs Nock, who co-ordinated many of the younger teams.”

Ms Crawford said it was wonderful to see some of the boys win their divisions and for the senior boys to take the State title. “Their participation in the debating fraternity is over and above their academic and co-curricular commitments,” she said. “It is a fitting reward for their dedication, hard work and skill and I feel privileged to have been part of their achievements.”