A free primer
How school debating works.
If you have never sat through a school debate — or you are about to coach, chair or judge your first one — this page explains the whole machine in plain language. It is drawn from The 2027 Handbook, which covers all of it in depth.
How does a school debate run?
Two teams face each other: the Affirmative, which argues for the topic, and the Negative, which argues against it. Each team has three speakers plus one support member, who assists with preparation. A chairperson runs proceedings — introducing the topic and each speaker, keeping order, and inviting the adjudicator’s decision at the end — while a timekeeper rings the bells. After the adjudicator delivers the decision, the two support members give short thank-you speeches, winners first.
What is the speaking order in a debate?
The teams alternate, with the Affirmative always opening:
How long does each speaker talk?
In a scaffolded primary-school format, each speaker has four minutes. The timekeeper keeps everyone honest with a simple bell code:
What do debate adjudicators judge?
Adjudicators score every speech across three categories:
- Matter
- The content and quality of the arguments and evidence — what you say.
- Manner
- How persuasively and clearly the speech is delivered — how you say it.
- Method
- How well the speech and the team case are structured and organised — how it all fits together.
To keep judging fair, well-run competitions cross-assign adjudicators each round so that nobody ever judges a debate involving their own school.
How much preparation time do teams get?
In a coached, scaffolded format, topics are released on Monday morning for that week’s Wednesday debate — two clear school days for teams to build their case and rehearse with their coach. The coached preparation period ends when the debate begins: once a speaker starts their speech, their team may not assist them further.
What does the support member (fourth speaker) do?
The support member helps research and build the case during preparation, but does not deliver one of the three main speeches. On debate day their moment comes at the end: after the adjudicator’s decision, the two support members deliver short thank-you speeches, winners first. It is the classic first stepping-stone role for a new debater.
How is a debating season structured?
A clean structure for a ten-team competition is a single round-robin: over nine rounds, every team debates every other team exactly once. Standings run on win–loss record, with ties broken by a count-back on season points. The top four then advance to semi-finals — first plays fourth, second plays third — and the two winners meet in the final, where certificates and the trophy are presented.