ESU Scotland

We were so impressed with the quality of speaking and judging on display yesterday. Thank you to all our speakers and volunteers, and to the teachers who went the extra mile to ensure their pupils got the chance to compete. #StAndrewsDay #WeAreScotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Our overall Best Speaker was Saoirse Gaston from @StColSchool.

Yesterday, the ESU Scotland hosted our annual St Andrew's Day Debating Competition. After a riveting day of debates and an exciting final, the speakers declared our winners were Joe Jones and Mia MacGillivray from Portree High School. Congratulations!

Well done to Monifieth High School and in particular to Marcus- sixth best speaker at this year's St Andrew's Day Debating Tournament!

Our final judging panel features our best judge from the day's debates, a pupil from @BanchoryAcademy. Also on the panel is Jarrod, a second year Glasgow Uni student and former schools debater from @BroxburnDebates.

Schools in the final are: Opening Government: @MarrColOfficial Opening Opposition: Portree High School Closing Government: St Columba's Closing Opposition: @St_Andrews_Acad

Catch the final of our St Andrew's Day Debating Tournament - streaming LIVE now 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🗣️ #WeAreScotland

While lockdown means in-person sessions are impossible, we're thrilled to have been able to run a series of online "Introduction to Debating" workshops at schools around Scotland in preparation for our St Andrew's Day Debating Tournament next week! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🗣️

No debating at your school? No problem! Our Speak up Scotland programme aims to kick-start debating clubs in schools around the country through free online workshops and materials. See esuscotland.org.uk/speakupscotland for more details! 🗣️📢

Entry into this competition is open to all Scottish secondary schools and is completely free. Pupils can take part as speakers, judges or chairs - there's something to be gained for every experience level! For more information on how to take part, go to: esuscotland.org.uk/st-andrews-day…

This year our St Andrew's Day Debating Tournament will be taking place online. This means we'll be able to stream our Grand Final around the world! Mark November 30th on your calendar, and be sure to tune in to the stream on our YouTube channel here: youtu.be/j7Yd8iYy8Pw

To help participants with their speeches we've put together a handbook on public speaking. Alongside speaking tips and exercises, we've also included a section on famous speeches in history and some resources you can use when researching themes. Find this handbook on our website!

Theme 3 is CYBER SECURITY ⌨️ As technology grows stronger, so too do the risks it poses. Cyber security has implications in areas such as finance, national security and election integrity. Why should we care about this? And how can international cooperation help in this area?

Spaces are still open for our Public Speaking Competition! 🎙️ ✨ This year we're teaming up with the U.S. Consulate General Edinburgh to run a senior and a junior competition. Speech themes are based on international relations. More information here: esuscotland.org.uk/public-speakin…