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Monday, 30 November 2009
Sixth Form pupil Anna McCrory is set to represent the North West
in the final of the Historical Association's Debating Competition,
'The Great Debate' after winning her North West heat.
Anna represented the Girls' Division in the North West heat
which was held at Withington Girls' School, and she faced fierce
competition from 15 other pupils aged between 16 and 19 from North
West schools, including competitors from Bolton School Boys'
Division, Manchester Grammar School, Withington School, Lancaster
Grammar, Chester High School and Parrswood High School.
The topic of the debate was "Why does my local hero matter?"
Each competitor was given five minutes to present their case,
explaining why their chosen local historical figure is of
significance, before fielding questions from the judges. Anna was
debating the case of Lord Leverhulme, who re-endowed Bolton School
in 1915, and impressed the judges with her clear and focussed
argument, and her accurate and well informed History of Lord
Leverhulme. Anna won the competition and will now go on to
represent the North West in the Grand Final. She said: "It was a
really fun day, and very interesting to listen to all the
other speeches too. I'm really excited to have the chance to travel
down to Cambridge for the final."
This is the third nationwide Great Debate, the first taking
place as part of Centenary Celebrations in 2006, signifying 100
years of campaigning for history in and out of the classroom. Heats
are taking place across the country this autumn, and the grand
final will be held at Clare College, The University of Cambridge,
in March 2010. The overall winner of the competition will receive a
cash prize and all finalists will receive prizes from sponsors as
well as membership to the Historical Association.
The Boys' Divison also did well in the North West heat,
achieving 5th place.
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