School Debates
The Leeds Salon has run an annual school debating competition for years 10&11 students since 2014, as well as many other one-off competitions for both years 10&11 and sixth form students. In 2023, we began an annual sixth form competition in partnership with the Royal Armouries Museum (Leeds).
Our competitions rely on our list of Judges, who give up their time freely to engage with the young people on important contemporary issues. For all our competitions, we use the format and topic guides of the Academy of Ideas sixth form Debating Matters competition, for whom we’re also Partners. Our competitions are also listed on the DM Locals page.
Between 2016 and 2018, we also presented The Leeds Salon Individual Prize at the Debating Matters Yorkshire Regional Finals to the individual who best exemplified the spirit of Enlightenment inquiry by asking lots of good, incisive questions. From 2024, we resurrected the prize for the Royal Armouries Sixth Form Debating Competition.
If your school would like to take part in our competitions, or help to run your own, email us at contact@leedssalon.org.uk
The Leeds Salon Annual Years 10&11 Debating Competition
The Leeds Salon’s annual debating competition for years 10&11 (ages 14 to 16) began in 2014 as a one-off event involving just three schools.
In 2015, we introduced qualifying rounds to include more schools to compete to win a place in the final.
Since 2023, leading transatlantic law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (Leeds) has been the Headline Partner of the competition, making it ‘The Womble Bond Dickinson / Leeds Salon Years 10&11 Debating Competition‘.
The final of the ‘The Womble Bond Dickinson / Leeds Salon Years 10&11 Debating Competition 2025’ took place on Wednesday 2nd April at Womble Bond Dickinson Leeds offices – the twelfth year of our competition.
The three qualifying rounds winners – Abbey Grange CofE Academy, Carr Manor Community School and Guiseley School – completed over three debates.
Carr Manor Community School were declared 2025 Champions for the first time in only their third final.
There were also three individual prizes awarded to: ‘Best Individual’ Molly Megginson of Carr Manor; ‘Highly Commended Individual’ Eliza Salmon of Guiseley, and ‘Commended Individual’ Felix Whittaker of Carr Manor.
Prize Sponsors were Royal Armouries Museum (Leeds), the University of Leeds’ Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied Centre and UKREiiF – the Leeds-based UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum.
Years 10&11 Finals: 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025
Royal Armouries Sixth Form Debating Competition
The Leeds Salon has partnered with the Royal Armouries Museum (Leeds) since 2023 to run an annual sixth form debating competition, which takes place each November.
The first Royal Armouries competition involved just three Leeds schools. In 2024. we expanded it to include six West Yorkshire schools in an all-day event.
Also in 2024, leading transatlantic law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (Leeds) were Headline Sponsor, and the Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied (IDEA) Centre of the University of Leeds provided prize sponsorship.
Royal Armouries Sixth Form Debating Competitions: 2023 | 2024 | 2025
Other competitions we’ve ran:
Between 2016 and 2020 we ran the annual Tetley Years 10&11 Debating Competition for south and central Leeds schools: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020. As well as competing to be crowned Tetley Champions, the winners would go on to compete against the north Leeds qualifying round winners in the years10&11 annual final.
We’ve also ran: Lawnswood School Summer Competition (2014); Ralph Thoresby School Debating Competition as part of Headingley LitFest (2015); Jordans Solicitors Wakefield Sixth Form Competition 2015 & 2016; the first competition between Leeds City College & Leeds College of Building (2016); Lightcliffe Academy (Halifax) Summer Sixth Form Competition (2016); South Leeds Academy Christmas Debating Competition (2016); ‘Debate Outwood’ Sixth Form Competition between schools from Outwood Academy chain (2017), Gateacre School (Liverpool) Sixth Form Debate; (2018); NHS Digital/Debating Matters Sixth Form Competition at Thackray Medical Museum (2018); Bolton Sixth Form College Debating Competition (2019); ‘Debate Outwood’ Years 10&11 Competition between schools from Outwood Academy chain (2019).