The finals’ event was hectic! Jafar read a guide on tips for the Oxford Finals’ whilst Tilola rested her throat as we drove south from Altrincham on Friday. Over the evening meal we practised techniques and dived into justifications and objections to ’career politicians’ - which, by chance, was the motion in the third round the next day.  In the Union, the students from around the world gathered to see the competition draw and get the first view of the debate motions. Jafar and Tilola represented North Cestrian fantastically. They often had just 5 minutes preparation time but were adept and sophisticated to bring their cultural capital and persuasion to the opposition schools. In the first four rounds the judges scored NCS 4th, 4th, 2nd , then 1st! Alas this was not quite enough to go beyond the quarter-finals, but what a debut against schools including Eton, University College London, and national schools of the Philippines and South Africa, and many top British private schools.