CLIFFORD HICKS MEMORIAL INT’L DEBATE CONCLUDES IN GRAND STYLE AT CALCUTTA BOYS’ SCHOOL
More than 80 schools participated in the event
The Clifford Hicks Memorial International Debate, in commemoration of the life and services of Clifford Hicks, Principal and Secretary of CBS (1952 to 1974) began to be organised as a yearly event in the year 2015 by the present Principal of Calcutta Boys’ School, Raja McGee. From October 23-26, 2024, the eight edition of The Clifford Hicks International Debate took place at the campus where contestants from prestigious schools from all over India and abroad displayed their rhetorical skills and their debating flair, all this in the loving memory of Hicks.
This year, like the previous years, the debate was held in two categories —category I for classes XI and XII and category II for classes IX and X, with prelims and finals for each stage. The top seven teams from the prelims qualified for the finals in each category. More than 80 premier schools across India and globally participated in the event.
The event had students debating on various interesting topics like democracy has not failed in India; we will never actually achieve world peace outside conferences and seminars, the media is too focused on celebrity culture, the media has a responsibility to protect the environment, the media’s coverage of economic issues rests on fake statistics and the media must not be allowed to report on ongoing criminal investigations.
In category I, the trophy for the best speaker went to Yavisht Shahaveer Jamshedji of St. Paul’s School, Darjeeling and the winning team was La Martiniere Girls’ College, Lucknow. In category II, Bethany High School, Bangalore took home the prize as the winning team with Aarefa Adnan Nakhoda from Bethany High School Bangalore getting the trophy for the best speaker.
