Our Experienced Debating workshop is an experienced level program.

Designed for students with formal coaching in debating, we recommend that students only enrol if:

• they have completed our Foundations of Debating or Debating Hummingbirds holiday program (or have previously done the Experienced Debating or Debating Hawks program, and want to improve some other debating skills);
• they have attended either our Debating Parrots or Debating Pelicans term program whilst in primary school;
• they’ve received formal training with another provider; or
• they attend a school with a comprehensive debating training program, and competed in a number of interschool debates.

Importantly, debating and public speaking are very different skills – attending a public speaking program with us, or participating in a public speaking program at school, doesn’t really prepare students for this workshop – they would be better off giving out Foundations of Debating program a try.

If you’re not sure whether your child would be better suited for our Foundations of Debating or Experienced Debating program, please get in touch and we would be more than happy to discuss it with you!

Over the duration of the program, students will:

• be given various opportunities to present in practice debates, taking on different roles each time;
• receive personal feedback from an experienced and enthusiastic coach, which can then be applied soon after in the following debate; and
• have exposure to a range of important concepts, that will help them develop a more holistic understanding of debating.

Given the modular nature of the Experienced Debating program, there is no strict timetable that coaches are required to follow – that said, students can generally expect to:

• participate in at least one debate per day, but almost always two, each on a different topic;
• have time set aside for personal feedback which they can implement in the following practice 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 a range of debating related activities.  These will 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 maximum size of our Experienced Debating class is 8 students with one coach, and 16 students with two coaches.

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 program, 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 Experienced Debating 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 program, we would recommend that students move onto either:

• our Foundations of Public Speaking program, which covers the basics of public speaking – a very different presentation style to debating; or
• our Experienced Debating program again, which is never the same, and changes depending on what will best suit the students in any given group.

Unfortunately we don’t run any weekly term programs for high school students – that said, if you think there is demand in your area, please get in touch and we’ll see what we can do!