Our Debating and Oratory programmes offer students year-round opportunities to develop and refine the art of reasoned argument on a range of significant social and political issues that shape our world.
Students involved with Senior School Debating, Public Speaking and Model United Nations are encouraged to:
- Think critically about issues and situations, and to demonstrate understanding of their complexity when forming and articulating arguments
- Locate appropriate sources of information and assess the relevancy of information researched in supporting arguments
- Be active listeners to the perspectives of others, and to use these to evaluate their own points of view
- Express themselves with purpose, clarity, empathy and sensitivity
- Reflect on individual and team strengths and weaknesses to improve future performance
Students are supported by a diverse cross-discipline teaching team as well as by external coaches who themselves have found success at national and even international levels of oratory competitions. Seminars, skills workshops and mixed social events with other schools, plus regular guest speaker experiences contribute to a rich learning environment across our oratory offerings.
In recent years, Cranbrook has consistently been represented at the semi-finals level of the Independent Schools Debating Association Competition, the semi-finals of the NSW Evatt Competition, the grand final level of the NSW Voice and Negotiations Competitions, and the Top 64 global teams in the International Public Policy Forum Debating Competition. Individual Cranbrookians have also taken up representative positions in the NSW Youth Parliament, the flagship youth advocacy group for the state.