What Is It?
The Sir Peter Lazarus Debating Competition is a national competition allowing those in school years 10 to 13 (Scotland: S3-S6) to practise the skills of debating without the burden of excessive pre-competition preparation - no competitor has any idea what they will be talking about until 15 minutes before each debate.
This is the twelfth year in which the Jewish Lads' & Girls' Brigade will be running this very successful competition.
The benefits for young people in taking part in such events are well-known and are summarised below:
- Develops debating and public speaking skills
- Contributes to self-confidence
- Encourages cogent thought and rational argument
- Enhances listening and questioning techniques
- Introduces students to university-style debating
- Good debating skills are highly regarded by universities and professional employers
Each year we invite a prestigious Guest of Honour, and in recent years we have been fortunate to welcome Lord Robert Winston, Lady Jackobovitz, Henry Grunwald QC, Sir David Bean QC, Sir Ivan Lawrence QC and Stephen Pollard to chair the final debate.
The competition is based on the English Speaking Union guidelines.