Balloon debate

On Tuesday 24 January our annual Balloon Debate took place in the Learning Resources Centre – with a twist.

In previous years our Academic Scholars have been tasked to represent a particular individual – a historical figure or current star perhaps – who they think should be ‘saved’ as the hypothetical hot air balloon loses height and the travellers debate the pros and cons of each person remaining in the balloon – or being thrown out!

This year our 18 Year 7 to Year 9 Academic Scholars were tasked with a much less ‘jeopardy’ inspired situation: they had to convince the audience of visiting Year 6 pupils to vote for their chosen country to be the final destination of the balloon’s flight. The scholars were all asked to select a country which has more than just English as its official language.

All of the continents were represented and the audience had the opportunity to witness the Haka, the traditional dance or challenge from the Maori people of New Zealand; to learn that Peruvian architecture has inspired some of the building used in the Star Wars franchise; to hear about the plethora of museums in Russia; and to discover some of the natural beauty found in Iceland. It was great to see such variety in the girls supporting points, and the girls representing Sweden showed their clear creative side when they presented Sweden’s greatest achievements in lyrical form to the tune of ABBA’s Dancing Queen.

The overall winning country was Canada, represented by Year 9 student Emily O. Emily’s impressive presentation explained that without Canada the world would be without insulin, hockey and Walkie Talkies. Well done to all those who took part and especially Emily for devising such original presentations. We look forward to seeing what next year’s Balloon Debate will bring!