​St Mary’s College has a strong tradition of debating and public speaking. In 2021 the College founded the Ipswich Secondary Schools Debating Competition. Held in term two each year, the competition invites teams from eight local schools to compete in junior, intermediate, and senior debating categories. The 2023 season has approximately 45 teams registered to attend. 

Being involved in debating provides students the opportunity to develop teamwork skills, build the ability to think laterally, grow their communication skills, and have fun in the process. Debating is a great way for our students to develop a variety of skills which have endless benefits across all of their subjects.

Further benefits of debating include: 

• Marked improvement in a wide variety of academic skills 

• Greatly improves reading comprehension 

• Assists students in becoming self-directed learners 

• Builds the ability to think laterally 

• Increase capacity to quickly create logical counterpoints 

• Develops students’ mental and emotional maturity 

• Improves young people’s cooperation and conflict-resolution skills​