St Kilan's German School at Concern Debate Finals. Photo: Ruth Medjber / Concern Worldwide.

Competition stages

The Concern Debates competition runs for several months and is completed over a number of stages. Every year, more than 100 schools argue their motions in the hope of being our next debating champions.

Engaging young people with social justice issues is empowering for the teacher and the learner and brings a real sense of energy to the classroom and to the school environment.

Sorcha Mellon - Teacher

Current Stage

The Debates Programme is now at the Semi Final Stage. The Cup and Shield fixtures have now been finalised. The Semi-finals will take place on the 14th and 15th of April live on Zoom. We want to thank all schools who took part in the debates under challenging conditions this year.

Semi Final Cup Fixtures 2020-2021|PDF(450 KB)

Semi Final Shield Fixtures 2021-2021|PDF(549 KB)

St Kilian's German School winners at the Concern Debate Finals. Photo: Ruth Medjber.

Stages explained

Here are the several stages of the Concern Debates.

Registration

Registration for the Concern Debates usually begins around the summer holidays. By registering, you are not guaranteed a place. A Concern Debates staff member will be in touch to let you know if your application is successful. At the start of every debate phase, the dates and venues for the coming year are announced once teams have registered.

League phase