Heather McKendrick, education and training development officer at the Law Society, said: “We had schools from all but two local authority areas taking part taking part in the opening round of the tournament which was great to see – and I want to congratulate all those teams who have made through to the next stage.
“Many schools now have debating clubs and really encourage pupils to develop their skills in constructing and presenting well thought out and persuasive arguments.”
Two opening round heats which had to be cancelled are rescheduled for January 2013.
The Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament is sponsored by publisher Hodder Gibson. It was launched in 1999 and is the largest debating tournament for schools in Scotland.
To find out more about the competition visit our website: http://www.lawscot.org.uk/becomingasolicitor/our-work-with-schools
Pupils who took part in a ‘taxing’ debate have won a place in the next stage of the Law Society of Scotland’s annual Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament.
From a total of 128 teams from across Scotland who took part in the opening heats, 64 teams will go through to the second round heats in January after successfully debating the motion ‘this House would introduce a 100% inheritance tax’. The semi finals will be held in early spring before the grand final in June.