BT Gaelic Debate 2009 Semi Finalists Announced
Following an afternoon of tense and difficult debate, the four teams who will compete in the semi-finals of the BT Gaelic Debate 2009 have been announced. This year a different format was adopted by the organising committee which saw all ten teams in Round Two debate the same topic with the four highest scoring teams going through to the semi final stages which will be held in Edinburgh on Tuesday the 24th of November 2009. The draw for the semi-finals is as follows:
· Group A: The Nicolson Institute V Portree High School
· Group B: Castlebay Community School A V Bishopbriggs Academy.
Group A will debate on the topic ‘It would be wrong to assume that one man, such as Barack Obama, can change the world’ and Group B will debate whether the Media should give people complete freedom to put their own opinions across, regardless of what they may be.
The three judges, Donald Campbell of MG ALBA, Rosemary Ward of Bòrd na Gàidhlig and Matthew MacIver, Professor at the University of the Highlands and Island were extremely impressed with the standard of the pupils taking part in the debate and agreed unanimously that it was very difficult to reach a decision this afternoon. The standard of the debate continues to rise year on year and as each stage progresses we see the pupils gaining more and more confidence and strength in their debating skills.
The semi-finals will be held in the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh on Tuesday 24th November. The Final will be held in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday the 25th of November 2009 and will be broadcast live on BBC Radio nan Gàidheal.
Notes to Editors:
· The Management Committee would like to thank BT Scotland, the main sponsors, for their continued support of the Debate.
· Additional assistance for the BT Scotland Debate 2010 has come from Comunn na Gàidhlig, the BBC, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, MG ALBA and the Management Review Group for Gaelic.