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This year the Delf Club gave the opportunity to year 3 students to prepare for the French Delf A1 exam. The
widely recognised Delf exams are administered by the CIEP of the French Ministry of Education.
By attending one weekly a ernoon class students can - at no extra cost - broaden their view of the French
language as well as enrich their knowledge of it.
Next year students between years 3 and 6 attending French classes at the school will be offered the oppor-
tunity to attend the Club and take the Delf exams without any considerable extra effort.
Katia Solomidou - Delf Club co-ordinator
Delf Club
Our school has been selected once more by the EYP National Committee to participate in the 7th National
Session of the EYP Cyprus, which will take place in Larnaca, at the Pascal English School, between the 29th
of August and the 1st of September.
The selection was based on the school team's performance during Preselection day which was on the 21st
of April in Nicosia. Our students were indeed very good and enthusiastic. They participated in all the debates,
delivered attack speeches and clarified points. They particularly excelled in the debate of their own topic on
cyber crime, both in their defence speech and in the summing up of the debate.
Our team of 6 students: Arif Buda, Margarita Taliadorou, Myrto Kolokassides, Yiannis Pantelides, Charalam-
bos Roussos and Philip Hadjimarkou.
Three more of our EYP students, Andreas Hadjimitsis, Alexia Michaelides and Lisa Alison from previous years’’
teams were promoted to be in the organising committee at this session, while more are expected to benefit
from promotional posts in the forthcoming National Session.
EYP students Andreas Hadjimitsis and Arif Buda, together with Batuhan Ozdag, participated in the EU Debate
organised by the EU Representation in Cyprus on May 18. Various issues were raised and discussed between
students from different schools and Members of the EU Parliament. Their contribution was most valuable and
greatly appreciated as it coincided with the exam period.
Katia Solomidou - EYP co-ordinator
EYP
National
Committee
and
Debate
on the
occasion
of the
Day of Europe
Debate Society
According to numerous major studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. The
Debating Society is therefore the place where dozens of English School students have, for decades, learned
how to conquer their biggest fear—and every year we have a lot to show for it.
Those with the skill and persistence to reach the Grand Finals of the school championships experience heated
debates with flying accusations, pointed questions, and a large quantity of dubious statistics. This year, in the
first debate of the Finals, Alexander Gamble and Anna Iacovou defended the motion that The music indus-
try is all industry and no music, faced by musicians and Talent Night-veterans Rajiv Hurhangee and Alexia
Michaelidou. In the second debate, with a mixture of emotional arguments and historical evidence, Alexan-
dros Demetriades and Melina Kouyialis defended the motion that Colonial powers should give compensation
to their former colonies; a claim challenged vehemently by E hymia Theodorou and Nicoleta Antoniou. The
overall results of our competition, taking into account both the debating and impromptu speaking scores,
were:
1.
Alexander Gamble
7G
2.
Alexandros Demetriades
7J
3.
Alexia Michaelidou
6R
4.
Anna Iacovou
6J
A team of 8 enthusiastic girls who qualified in the school competition represented The English School and
Cyprus in the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships (WIDSPC)—of which The Eng-
lish School is a founding member—in April 2013, in Durban, South Africa. Armed with persuasive speeches
on topics ranging from patent laws, the downsides of meritocracy and the danger of trusting university league
tables, our team has for yet another year yielded satisfying results and gained a lot from the international
competition experience. Our competitors were escorted by two English School Graduates, George Varna-
vides and Andreas Georgiades who attended the Championships as coaches and judges, as well as Ms Mason
and Mr Corkhill.
A er a fantastic year, I’m thrilled to hand over the Presidency of The Debating Society to the extremely ca-
pable Alexia Michaelidou and Katerina Georgiadou, who will be presidents for 2013—14. Debating is a truly
invaluable experience which I can safely say has taught me some of the most important life skills: effective
argumentation, persuasion, negotiation, public speaking, and the ability to see things from multiple per-
spectives. Of all my English School experiences, it is one of which I am proudest and I know that the Debating
Society will continue to be extremely successful.
Eleni Courea, 7B President of the Debating Society 2012—13
Photo le :
Arif Buda takes the podium at the
EYP preselection debate.
Photo right:
Third form students enjoy Delf
club
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