Peterhouse Debate Goes International 2021

During the Lent Term of 2021, the Peterhouse Debate Club competed in four international tournaments, in the months of February and March. 

Oxford Schools Africa Regional Tournament

The boys and girls performed very well during this qualifying round with Saune Uriri and Charles Moscrop breaking into the semifinals. Anesu Mushosho was ranked no 6 in Africa this Regional round.

Cambridge Schools Tournament

This was held on the 6th of March. Peterhouse was represented by Shaune Uriri and Charles Moscrop. Although the boys did not make it to the final rounds, they spoke with distinction.

Oxford Schools Finals Tournament

The competition took place on the 13th and 14th of March. It is the biggest and most prestigious high school British Parliamentary debate tournament involving more than a thousand pupils. Charles Moscrop and Shaune Uriri represented Peterhouse once again. They were the best performing African team in the entire history of the competition after achieving a total of 578 speaker points, 7 team points out of a possible 16 points and is ranked 52nd out of 132 teams from across the UK.

Harvard World Schools Invitational

There were 75 schools and 795 competitors. Peterhouse entered 2 mixed teams.

The team consisting of Hritik Kala, Munesu Mushosho, Shumirai  Chigadza, and Joy Chauruka was the best performing African team with 1482 total speaker points and 3 wins.  

The team consisting of Shaune Uriri, Charles Moscrop, Lintini Kuwvanga, and Mercy Magaya had a total of 1452 total speaker points and 3 wins.

Shumirai Chigadza was tied on the position of the second-best speaker from Africa after she was ranked on position number 181 with an average of 70.33 speaker points which is impressive considering that the current world champion has an average of 74 speaker points. She lost the position of being the best African speaker by 0.1%.

Besides the help from their school coaches, the Peterhouse Debate teams received a month of intensive training by Ideas Matter, a consultancy dedicated to helping learners improve their communication and critical thinking skills. A big thank you to Mr. Dube of Ideas Matter who worked tirelessly to make sure that our boys and girls performed to the best of their ability. 

Mrs. Rutendo Mudiwa

Team Manager