It was a successful half-term break for three of our students who took part in the Wales Schools Debating Championships!
Congratulations to Lila in Year 11 who took part in as Westbourne’s individual speaker as proposition on the motion, “this house would ban school uniform“. After a 3 minute speech, she took questions from the floor for 4 minutes which she answered succinctly and with great flair.
Lilian and Isabella in Year 10 took part in the team debate, having just 1 hour to prepare the proposition on the motion, “this house would make volunteering compulsory”, Issy spoke first for 5 minutes, followed by the opposition to which Lilian replied for 5 minutes again followed by the opposition. Lilian’s 3 minute summation sealed the girls winning their debate. The judges were impressed with the clear structure and a logically sequenced argument which engaged well with the opposition
The Senior School debating club tested their diplomacy, understanding of international relations, critical thinking and teamwork at Model United Nations at Cardiff City Hall.
Representing Mozambique, Sweden, Vietnam and Malawi Westbourne delegates used their debating skills to negotiate and form their own climate change resolutions in a mock up of COP24 against 20 other schools.
Students joined the ‘Plastic Free Penarth’ movement during half term, to talk about reducing plastic and litter in the community. The group spent some time picking litter on the beach, followed by a brainstorming session with representatives from other schools on ways to make their schools more sustainable.
As part of their career development programme, IB1 students had the opportunity to take part in a talk by GE Aviation in their first week after half-term. They learned more about engineering as a degree and Network 75 – a scheme working in collaboration with the University of South Wales, allowing students to graduate with 5 years of work experience and 100% employment rate.
Over the summer, our Year 10, Year 11 and pre-IB students were busy filming for a Latin competition. The results have just been shared with us and Year 10 students are mentioned as one of Top 9 best finalists.
Cambridge University shared their video as deserving special mention and merit for “wonderful use of local settings in this retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice”. The University of Cambridge described our students as ‘a talented bunch’ – we can’t argue with that!
The annual NSPCC Charity Carol Concert will be taking place at Llandaff Cathedral on Tuesday 3rd December 2019 at 7pm (doors open at 6.30pm). There will be performances from Only Men Aloud, Westbourne School Choir, Heol y March Choir and The St. Hilary Choir.
There are less than 100 tickets left and selling fast, so to avoid disappointment we encourage you to get your ticket as soon as possible!