Students sit on stage at the Helix for the final of the Concern Debates 2023

Programme Stages

The Concern Debates programme runs for several months and is completed over a number of stages. Every year, more than 150 schools take part in our programme which gives students the opportunity to research, explore and then debate some of the defining issues of today.

From September - December, the League Phase will take place. Each school will have three debates which will take place online.
In January, the top 64 schools will progress to the Knockout Stages of the programme. The Knockout Stages will continue online.
In March, the Quarter Finals will take place. These will be held in-person in mid-way venues arranged by the Concern Debates team.
The Semi-Finals will take place in-person in Dublin in April 2025.
The Final will take place in the Helix, Dublin on May 1st 2025.

This year, in response to feedback from schools, we are also adding in-person workshops at the end of the League Phase. This will give students a chance to further explore some of the issues they have debated and meet other debaters from different schools. These will take place in several locations around the country.