Bishop Cotton School, Shimla is organizing the 27 th edition of The Revd. Dr. Samuel Slater Memorial Invitational Inter School English Debates from the 21st of September to the 25 th of September 2024. Slater debating competition that has grown in stature since its inception has become one of the top; best loved Inter- Public School Debates in India and abroad.
Bishop Cotton School was founded in 1859, by the then Metropolitan Bishop of India, who was himself a school teacher by choice and experience. The school has had a great history of more than 150 years, spanning the Indian freedom movement, both World Wars and Independence. It has transitioned from being a school started solely for the sons of British Officers, both civil and military, into a school which is purely Indian, albeit with old ‘public school’ traditions and customs; an old fashioned sense of courtesy and etiquette, coupled with a fiercely competitive spirit in both games as well as other activities.
Old Boys have gone on to be successful in whatever they have chosen to do, and as many have chosen the road less travelled. However, what sets BCS apart is the amazing strong fraternal bond that binds the community together, both staff and students, across generations and distances. The Rev Dr. Samuel Memorial Invitational English Debates , (named after the Founding Headmaster) is a debating tournament, inaugurated in 1996, as a platform for young men and women from privileged English medium schools across the country ,to interact with each other and form lasting connections, while the testing their skills and wits against each other in a friendly atmosphere.
Unlike other inter- school debates of the time, which were single debates which saw one speaker from each school speaking for the motion, while the other spoke against, at Slater, the schools spoke as a team, with three speakers from each school speaking together either for or against the motion. The first year saw only eleven teams, this rapidly grew to twelve, and with it the tournament evolved into a league for the preliminary debates, followed by Semi-finals and Finals.
The first school to win the debates was The Doon School. The XXV- Silver Jubilee Edition saw the number of participating schools double to 32.All of them were hosted on the school campus. The purpose of the event was met with high standards of debating, friendships forged and lasting relationships built.
The following schools will be participating in The XXVII Revd. Dr. Samuel Slater Memorial Invitational Inter-School English Debates:
- GEMS New Millennium School,Dubai
- Mallinson Girls School, Srinagar
- Tyndale Biscoe School , Srinagar
- Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai
- Wynberg-Allen,Mussorie
- Assam Valley School, Assam
- Vasant Valley School, New Delhi
- YPS, Patiala
- Sri Ram, Moulsari
- St. Georges, Mussoorie
- Convent of Jesus and Mary, Dehradun
- Auckland House School, Shimla
- Auckland House School for Boys, Shimla
- St. Thomas School, Shimla
- Sherwood College, Nainital
- Bishop Cotton School, Shimla
