The Debating Program

Inside the book

What’s in the book, session by session.

The Program follows the arc of a real coaching year — from a diagnostic first session to a showcase debate in front of the whole school, and on to the competitions themselves. Every session runs to 75 minutes, opens with a ten-minute news round, and names the scripts and handouts it needs. Here is how it unfolds.

  1. The year, shaped

    Two terms of weekly training sessions, then a local competition run as practice, then the Premier’s Debating Challenge itself — with case-build sprint sessions in between rounds, and the selection and handover of the following year’s squad built into the calendar.

    Takeaway: a season plan you can put straight into the school calendar.

  2. Foundations — Sessions 1 to 4

    A diagnostic session that gets every student stating an opinion, a reason and an example under time pressure. PEEL case building with its three-part Explain, and how to spot and avoid truisms. The four-step rebuttal — heading, promise, a flat denial, then a second reason — and weighing with scale, vulnerability and permanence. Then the four speaker roles and the adjudication framework of Matter, Manner and Method.

    Takeaway: the complete technical core of primary debating, in four weeks.

  3. The speeches — Sessions 5 to 7

    How to open a debate: context, definition, case line, allocation and signposting, with worked openings to model live. The third speech and a team rebuttal system built on rebuttal cards a teammate can actually use. Then a full session on manner: six drills covering pace, volume, eye contact, the pause, emphasis and filler words.

    Takeaway: every speaking position taught, with model speeches to read aloud.

  4. Real debates — Sessions 8 to 11

    The first full debate on a prepared topic. The official one-hour preparation, taught step by step — silent brainstorm, download, set-up, case development, speech writing, regroup — with the adviser on the clock. An adjudication session judging a real Years 5–6 state final on video. Then a mock debate with a full hour of unassisted preparation, where squad selection begins.

    Takeaway: a squad that can prepare and debate without an adult in the room.

  5. Sprints and cold debates — Sessions 12 to 17

    Case-build sprints across the four topic areas competition debates are drawn from — technology and social media; school and education; environment and society; law, order and government — alternating with two cold debates on unseen topics, prepared in a closed hour. The second is filmed, and the squad self-adjudicates the film before the local competition begins.

    Takeaway: match conditions rehearsed before the first real match.

  6. The showcase, and the year beyond — Session 18 and Term 2

    A chaired showcase debate in front of the school to end the training terms. Then the rolling rhythm of the competition year: weekly case-build sprints between rounds, adjudicator feedback driving the next fortnight of training, and a structured handover in which returning students teach the incoming squad.

    Takeaway: a program that runs again next year — better, and largely taught by the students themselves.

  7. The appendices

    A bank of primary school debating topics, including three actual Premier’s Debating Challenge state-final topics, with a topic ledger to track what the squad has argued. Feedback principles. A guide to the official resources — the Arts Unit’s coaching materials, Creative Classes, finals videos and more. Notes on running the program a second time. And Appendix E: every script, transcript, worked example and photocopiable handout the sessions call for, printable in one sitting.

    Takeaway: nothing left for the coach to write from scratch.

Buy the Program — $30 AUD