Durham Schools 2010

Durham Schools 2010

Thank you to everyone who has already been in contact about Durham Schools 2010, 

ALL TEAM PLACES HAVE NOW BEEN FILLED - YOU CAN STILL REGISTER FOR THE WAITING LIST 

We're happy to announce it will be taking place between 20th-21st March. Featuring world-class judging, great socials, accommodation in a UNESCO world heritage site and 5 rounds breaking to semis before the final in the historic Durham Union Society chamber it promises to be a competition not to miss!

The CA is Durham's very own Ali Cormack, leading an impressive adjudication team including past World and Euros finalists.

Registration is now open and the forms can be found below. Both a registration form and an accommodation form need to be filled in and returned to the Durham Union Society in accordance with the address on the forms. Please make cheques payable to Durham Union Society.

The registration form and accommodation forms can be found here.

The deadline for registration of teams is the 10th February 2010.

All accommodation forms must be returned by 1st March 2010.

Round One is a Pre-Release motion. We will be sending this out to all registered teams soon!

Provisional Schedule

This timetable is subject to change. 

Saturday 20th March 2010

Registration- 10:30am- 1:00pm- Palace Green

BP Workshop- 11:00am- 12:30pm- Palace Green

Opening remarks- 1:30pm- Elvet Riverside

Round 1- 2:00pm- Elvet Riverside

Round 2- 4:00pm- Elvet Riverside

Dinner- 6pm- St Mary's and Hatfield colleges

Round 3- 7:30pm-Elvet Riverside

Social- 9:00pm- Hatfield college bar - theme 'Dead Famous'

Sunday 21st March 2010

Breakfast- from 7:30am- St Mary's, Hatfield and University colleges

Round 4- 9:30 am- Elvet Riverside

Round 5- 11:30am- Elvet Riverside

Lunch- 1:00pm

Main break announced, Sem-Finals, Novice Finals 2:00pm- Palace Green

Grand Final 4:00pm- Palace Green

BP Workshop

Durham Schools uses the British Parliamentary format-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Parliamentary_Style for a brief explanation.

Or visit our own pages, as built by Durham World Debating Finalist, Jon Simons, here

For any teams who have not previously debated in this format (or for anyone who would like some last-minute hints and tips), we will be running a BP Workshop at 11:00am on Saturday 20th March. This will focus primarily on speaker roles, strategy and definitions. 

Accommodation

All debaters and observers will once again be accommodated in University, Hatfield and St Mary's colleges. We endeavour to keep teams and their coaches as close together as possible. Please return your accommodation forms by the deadline of 1st March 2010 to ensuer that we can do so.

All debaters and observers will be provided with dinner on Saturday, breakfast and lunch on Sunday. Those staying on Sunday night will also receive dinner on Sunday and breakfast on Monday.

Vegetarian options are available for all meals, and all colleges will cater for Kosher, Halal and other specifications. Dietary requirements should be filled in on the accommodation form.

As was the case last year, those housed in St Mary's will be provided with dinner in the college on Saturday night, so as to negate the rush to return to Hatfield to eat after dropping off bags. Breakfast will be served in each college.

Keys and rooms will be given to competitors and observers upon arrival- if you have any special requirements then please let us know beforehand!


Bursaries

Following the success of last year's scheme, bursaries will once again be offered to schools in need of financial assistance in order to attend the competition.

To apply for a bursary, please contact us by email to obtain the necessary form.

 We will hold competition places for all schools whose bursary applications are being processed. If you are applying for a bursary, please do not return competition application forms or payment until you are informed of our decision. The usual deadlines for returned forms still apply, so please make your application in plenty of time- we would recommend the turn of the year as a sensible target. 

Entertainment

Durham Schools has deservedly gained a reputation in recent years as a competition not only of the highest standards in schools debating, but also as an enjoyable weekend for all involved. This is an aspect we hope to build upon in next year's competition, so expect good fun alongside the obvious thrill of great motions and intense competition.

On the Saturday night, a social event, theme 'Dead Famous', will be held in Hatfield college bar for all debaters, featuring a bar quiz with an as of yet undecided but undoubtedly very exciting prize. Socials for the judges, coaches and teachers are being arranged in the 24, the Union Society's bar which boasts one of  the finest selection of cocktails in the University.

More information on the socials will be up soon. They're being co-ordinated by Chessie Kettle and Ettie Bailey-King, both of Durham Union Society, and anybody who knows this dynamic duo will know that their socials will justify a trip up North on their own!

Facebook

Durham Schools 2010 can be found on Facebook, please join here or search  for "Durham Schools 2010" !

Novice qualification

In order to enter as a novice team, both debaters in that team must meet all of the following requirements:

• Debaters must be in their first (academic) year of competitive debating; ie., this school year must be the first in which they have been entered into competitions.
• Debaters must not have broken (reached the knock-out rounds) of another schools debating competition, such as the Oxford or Cambridge finals days.

• Debaters must not have attended a previous Durham Schools competition.

Travel

A map of Durham city centre can be found at http://www.dur.ac.uk/map/durham/. Palace Green (for parking, registration and the break rounds) is the area to the North of the Cathedral (we are number 21). Elvet Riverside, for the preliminary round debates, is number 25. St Mary's college is number 10, Hatfield number 20 and University college is number 23. 

Durham is located on the East Coast Main Line train route, approx. 3 hours from London. For connections, Newcastle is 15 minutes North, York 60 minutes South.

The train station is around a 15 minute walk from the Durham Union Society. A regular bus service also runs between Palace Green and the train station (every 20 minutes, fare 50p) which takes around 10 minutes.

By road, Durham city centre is around 5 minutes off the A1, and Palace Green can be reached by following signs for the Castle and Cathedral. If you require parking for the weekend, you must let us know in advance by filling in the appropriate information on your application form.

Contact

If you have any questions, regarding the registration process, the competition, accommodation or dietary issues, or novice qualification, please do not hesitate to contact us.

e-mail: durhamschools@gmail.com

phone: 0191 384 3724

We look forward to hearing from you in the coming months,

Pete Doughton & Louise Best

Co-Convenors, Durham Schools