Shimla: For the second year in a row La Martiniere College, Kolkata beat host Bishop Cotton School, Shimla to come out winners here at the finals of the Reverend Samuel Slater Memorial Invitational English Debates – 2012.
The final contestants put up a lively debate on the topic ‘The No Detention Policy up to the Secondary School level has caused more harm than good’.
The touchy issue of corporal punishment as an instrument used for disciplining school children was contested fiercely on both sides by the young debaters.
From amongst the top 16 schools of the country that were invited for the 17th Slater Debate, Darpan Roy Choudhary was declared as the best debater at the contest. Second position was bagged by Raghav Ghandi and in third position was Ishan Chatterjee.
Earlier in the day, it was a close call in the semi-finals were the boys from Bishop Cotton School, Shimla were pitted in a hot debate against St James, Kolkatta over the topic ‘Right to Eductaion: An Empty Promise’. In the end the judges declared the hosts winners of the debate.
La Martiniere, Kolkata boys got the better of Modern High, Kolkatta in the debate over ‘Job reservation must be given on an economic basis.”
Chief guest for the evening Sudipto Roy, additional chief secretary Himachal Pradesh government, gave away the prizes to the winners.
Since its inception 17 years ago, the Revd. Dr. Samuel Slater Memorial Invitational Inter-School English Debates have grown in stature and come to be counted as the best loved inter public school debates in India.
The schools that participated this year were:
1. Frank Anthony Public School, Delhi
2. Cathedral And John Connon, Mumbai
3. Dubai Modern High School,
4. La Martiniere Boys,Kolkata
5. Loreto House School, Kolkata
6. Mayo College for Girls, Ajmer
7. Auckland House School, Shimla
8. St. James School, Kolkata
9. The Assam Valley School, Assam
10. The Doon School, Dehradun
11. The Lawrence School, Sanawar
12. The Vasant Valley School, New Delhi
13. La Martiniere College, Lucknow
14. The Sri Ram School,Gurgaon
15. Modern High School for Girls, Kolkata
16. Bishop Cotton School, Shimla
Winners of the earlier held Slater Debates are:
1996 The Doon School Dehra Dun
1997 The Doon School Dehra Dun
1998 Bishop Cotton School, Shimla
1999 La Martiniere Boys’ School Calcutta
2000 St. James School, Calcutta
2001 Mayo College for Girls, Ajmer
2002 La Martiniere Boys’ School, Kolkata
2003The Cathedral & John Connon School, Mumbai
2004 La Martiniere Girls School, Kolkata
2005 Bishop Cotton School, Shimla
2006 La Martiniere Girls School, Kolkata
2007 The Doon School, Dehra Dun.
2008 The Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehra Dun.
2009 Mayo College for Girls, Ajmer
2010 La Martiniere Boys’ School, Kolkata
2011 La Martiniere Boys’ School, Kolkata
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
