[School Debate Series] Maryknoll Convent School: The power of persuasion

Joyce Lo, one of the debate team moderators at Maryknoll Convent School, finds it easy to pick out some of the qualities that have made her group of debaters successful.

“They love English and are passionate about debating,” she said. “They particularly enjoy answering ‘point of information’ (POI) contributions, which add excitement and spontaneity to a debate.”

The team’s skill and enthusiasm enabled them to hold off the challenge of Good Hope School in the Hong Kong Secondary Schools Debating Competition Enhanced Format Grand Final, held in May.

Maryknoll Form 4 students Tiffany Fung and Rachel Tong were part of the winning team. Though modest about the achievement, Fung couldn’t hide her delight at the win.

“I think we did well in the final match and we had a lot of fun answering the POIs,” Fung said. “When we were announced as winners, we were, of course, absolutely thrilled. I was really grateful to the teachers for their guidance and support, and I remember that I couldn’t wait to tell my family about the win.”

Tong echoed her teammate’s thoughts, and added: “I felt very grateful for the opportunity to work with different people and to push my boundaries.”