At the Taunton/South West England heat of the Great Debate the head judge, Marcus Paul (Deputy Head of Queens College, Taunton), gave some valuable tips on public speaking. If you are interested in public speaking or want to take part in our next Great Debate competition this podcast will prove...

The final of the Great Debate 2010 took place on Saturday 13th March at Clare College, Cambridge. There were 19 finalists (aged between 16 and 19) from our heats that took place across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Each student had five minutes to present their case on...

The final of the Great Debate 2012 took place on Saturday 10th March at Merton College, Oxford. There were 24 finalists (aged between 16 and 19) from our heats that took place across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Each student had five minutes to present their case on 'why does...

The final of the Great Debate 2016/17 took place on Saturday 11 March 2017 at the Imperial War Museum, London. There were 20 finalists (one via video link) aged between 16 and 19 from our heats that took place across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Each student had...

On Saturday 30 March 2019, a bright spring day, 21 students gathered at Windsor Castle for the Historical Association Great Debate final. The 21 finalists had already successfully won their local heats from across the UK and now they stood in the historic vaulted Vicar’s Hall, St George’s House, a stone's throw...

Many things have been different this year – especially things that involve people coming together physically in one setting. That was certainly the case for our Great Debate competition. Fortunately, all of the regional heats had taken place across the UK before the first lockdown came into effect last spring,...

The 2022 Great Debate final was held on 26 March at the Vicars' Hall, Windsor Castle. The question for young people to address was:  “The 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II has seen global and widespread changes including in: societal infrastructure, industry, rural life, the environment and ideas. Which changes of the...

The 2023 Great Debate final was held on 25 March at the Vicars' Hall, Windsor Castle. The question for young people to address was:  “Why does history matter to me?” Across the course of the day the judges and audience listened to talks on the personal experiences of finalists’ relatives in the...

The final was held at the Vicars' Hall at Windsor Castle on 23 March 2024 and attended by 22 finalists from across the UK. This year each finalist needed to have taken part in a regional competition and one of three semi-final stages.   The competition question for this year was:...

The final of the Great Debate 2015 took place on Saturday 14th March 2015 at Royal Holloway, University of London. There were 18 finalists (aged between 16 and 19) from our heats that took place across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Each student had five minutes to present their...

In this short film from 2015 Heather Scott (former Deputy President of the HA and compere of our Great Debate Finals) & Martin Spafford (Judge from our London Heats) provide advice for prospective students who might want to take part in the Great Debate. Martin and Heather also explain what...

In this short film Arianna Azari (Winner of our 2012 Great Debate competition) discusses why she took part in the Great Debate, what she got out of it, and gives her top tips for Public Speaking.

In this short film from 2015 Heather Scott (former Deputy President of the HA and compere of our Great Debate Finals) & Martin Spafford (Judge from our London Heats) introduce the Great Debate, talk about why students should get involved and discuss what they enjoy about the Great Debate.