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The Otago Boys' High School Foundation

PO Box 11,
Dunedin, New Zealand

Tel +64 3 477 2546
Fax +64 3 477 5468

Debating victory

9/6/2009

The school’s debating team has taken out the Russell McVeagh Otago/Southland regional competition for the first time in the trophy’s 21 year history.

On day one Borom Blakie, Hayden Robinson, Kurt Purdon and Sehan de Silva beat St Hilda’s but lost to Columba College affirming and then negating the moot ‘this house supports the changes made to New Zealand Aid’ before accounting for Otago Girls’, affirming the moot ‘that the sale of cigarettes should be banned.’

The second morning saw Otago Boys’ negating the motion ‘this house would make learning a second language in school compulsory’, the debate ending in a 2-1 split decision over James Hargest, a five times winner of the trophy.

Mt Aspiring College was beaten in the semi-final, with Otago Boys’ affirming ‘this house would make the denial of global warming a crime’ while Columba was beaten in the final in another split decision, this time the margin being 3/2..

Kurt Purdon was again named in the Otago debating team.