The Literary & Historical Society
Schools Debating Program
The L&H runs the most comprehensive schools debating programme in the country, with plans to grow it even further in the coming year. We hold multiple school competitions in various debate formats, including the Leinster Schools Debating Competition and Senior Maces and have a comprehensive schools outreach program targeted at making debating more accessible to secondary school students.
Leinster Schools' Debating Competition
Over the past forty years, Leinsters has become the highest standard of second level debating in the country, allowing students to have their voices heard, make friends and be challenged intellectually about current affairs.
This competition is run jointly by UCD’s Literary and Historical Society and TCD's College Historical Society. It is for students in their senior cycle of secondary education, i.e. in 4th, 5th or 6th year, in teams of two.
The competition runs from October to March.
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Schools Maces
These are one-day competitions where students have 15 minutes to prepare their speeches without access to outside help
from the internet or teachers.
This helps secondary school students develop skills such as public speaking, analytical thinking, and thinking on your feet in a fun, friendly environment combined with feedback from world-class L&H speakers.
The L&H also aims to increase the proportion of students from DEIS schools who participate in our school's maces through our Schools Outreach Programme.
Schools Outreach Programme
Our Schools Outreach Programme is designed to give DEIS schools and public schools access to debating.
There are three elements of the Schools Outreach Programme. Firstly, providing day-long training workshops to schools that would otherwise not be able to afforddebating training. Secondly, partial or full fee waivers are given to schools that could not afford our competitions' registration fees. Thirdly, facilitating outreach days in UCD to give students a full and jam packed day of public speaking and debating.
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