Debating

At Julia Gabriel Centre, we are passionate about language. The purpose of learning a language is to communicate. Communication skills are fundamental to the development of literacy and essential for thinking and learning. Persuasive speaking enables students to learn how to think on their feet, hone their listening and expressive speaking skills as well as improve their language competence. And that’s one reason why we are also passionate about debate!

Since 1999, Julia Gabriel Centre has been organising the annual Singapore Secondary Schools Debating Championships (SSSDC).

One of our main community service projects, this event is held over a series of Friday evenings from February to April each year. The tournament involves teams from around 70 schools each year, including secondary schools, integrated programme schools and international schools from across Singapore. Debates are held using a modified version of the World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) format, with teams divided into three divisions (Division I, II and III), allowing every school to compete against opponents with a similar level of competitive debating experience.

As well as running the SSSDC, we also offer debate courses in schools as part of our Communication Arts Programmes for Schools.

For more information about the Singapore Secondary Schools Debating Championships, please contact Mark Gabriel at 
E-mail: markgabriel@juliagabriel.com.