Debating Hawks

Our Debating Hawks workshop is an intermediate-level program.

Designed for students with some exposure to debating, we recommend that students only enrol if:

• they have completed our Speak Out Hummingbirds holiday workshop (or have previously done the Debating Hawks program, and want to develop their debating skills further);
• they have attended our Debating Parrots term program;
• have public speaking experience, feel confident in their ability to adapt to debating quickly and are not able to attend one of Speak Out Hummingbirds workshops;
• they’ve received formal training with another provider; or
• they have participated in a comprehensive debating training program at their school.

We also recommend that students who have only done our Debating Wallabies program in Years 3 & 4 also give our Speak Out Hummingbirds workshop a go first – the Wallabies program doesn’t cover ‘policy’ style debating, and so doesn’t fully prepare students for the Debating Hawks course.

Alternatively, if your child is in Year 7 (or higher) and is an advanced debater, they may also want to give our Practice Debates workshop a try for a more significant challenge.

If you’re not sure whether your child would be better suited for our Speak Out Hummingbirds, Debating Hawks or Practice Debates workshop, please get in touch and we would be more than happy to discuss it with you!

Alternatively, please check out our video below to see how our holiday workshops function!

Over the duration of the Debating Hawks program, students will:

• have multiple opportunities to practice their skills across a number of debates on different topics;
• receive personal feedback from an experienced and enthusiastic coach, which can then be applied soon after in the following debates; and
• have exposure to various concepts and ideas that will help them flourish as a debater and develop a more holistic understanding of the art.

Given the semi-modular nature of the Debating Hawks program, there is no strict timetable that coaches are required to follow – however, more generally, students can expect to:

• participate in at least 3-4 debates over the course of the workshop, each on a different topic;
• have time set aside for personal feedback which they can implement in their next debate; and
• at least one theory session each day, focusing on a topic the coach believes will best benefit the group as a whole.

Students will also be exposed to several activities to help them develop their confidence and impromptu speaking skills, whilst at the same time ensuring that they have an enjoyable experience at the program!

Our classes vary in size every holiday depending on how many bookings we receive – however, the student to teacher ratio in our Debating Hawks class is 9 students per coach, with a maximum of 16 students in a class.

If there aren’t any spots left, it’s usually because we’ve hit capacity – please get in touch with us and we’ll see what we can do about either opening an extra class, fitting your child into the existing class, or putting you on a waitlist in case any students pull out!

After each Debating Hawks program (which can be repeated unlimited times), students will go home with:

• a feedback sheet prepared by their coach, which outlines what they’ve improved on during the course, and what they could continue to work on in the future;
• a certificate recognising that they have completed the Debating Hawks workshop;
• a workbook containing any notes that the students wrote down during the course; and
• a more holistic understanding of debating!

If you’re interested in doing another holiday workshop, we would recommend that students move on to either:

• our Debating Hawks program again – the program is semi-modular and changes every holiday, so students will learn something new every time they complete it;
• if your child is in Year 7 (or higher) and looking for something more testing, our more advanced Practice Debates workshop for Years 7 – 10 may provide them with the challenge they’re after;
• if your child is looking for something different, our Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop for Years 6 – 8 would provide a different perspective on presenting to audiences!

Alternatively, if you’re looking for a weekly term program, we offer:

• Public Speaking Penguins, which takes Year 5 – 7 students through various different public speaking skills each term;
• Debating Parrots, which exposes students in Years 5 – 7 to a range of different debating skills every term;
• Debating Pandas, which takes Year 6 – 8 students through intermediate-level debating concepts (amongst a range of practice debates); or
• Debating Club, a more advanced modular class for Year 7 – 10 students to practice their skills each and every week.

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions, or get in touch using our contact form to learn more!