ESU Public Speaking Competition for Schools Branch Topics 2011-12
1 2 3 4 5 6
Children should have the right to vote Justice in this country is too weak An unwilling alcoholic should be required to get help Barack Obama should not be re-elected Blood sports have no place in modern society The media controls how and what we think
7 8 9 10 11 12
Physical force is a justifiable method of punishing children Detention without trial is the biggest threat to democracy State interference with civil liberties has gone too far Hollywood killed the theatre Mankind needs religion Performance Enhancing drugs should be allowed in sport
13 14 15 16 17 18
One parent should stay at home to raise children The police should be armed Cars should be banned in cities The English language is Britain's most valuable asset Organ transplants should be prioritized on the basis of lifestyle Western nations should not impose their standards on developing countries
19 20 21 22 23 24
Parents should be liable for illegal activities of their children Bad laws should be broken Advertisements for alcoholic products should be banned Fame and fortune are the only goals worth pursuing Vegetarianism is another word for unhealthy dieting Children should be banned from Facebook
25 26 27 28 29 30
Advertising to children is immoral A written constitution is the only way to protect freedom The death penalty should be re-introduced Eat carefully, exercise regularly, die anyway The school of hard knocks is better that Eton Britain should pay reparations for harm done by the Empire
31 32 33 34 35 36
Children should choose their own religion Crime does pay Political parties should be funded exclusively by the state There's nothing wrong with being a workaholic The assassination of a dictator can never be justified Celibacy is a thing of the past
37 38 39 40 41 42
Reading during youth is the most important endeavour Harsher punishments should be imposed on celebrities who commit crimes The state cannot claim to treat people equally until same-sex marriage is legal Violence is almost always the answer Men and women will never be equal Sports teams should be punished for violence perpetrated by their fans
43 44 45 46 47 48
Students should be subject to random, mandatory drug testing The jury system is outdated Gambling is addictive and should be banned in all its forms The American dream is nothing more than consumerism and ego The separation of church and state is desirable Paying for space exploration is unjustifiable while people on earth are starving
49 50 51 52 53 54
Single-sex schools are harmful to a child's development Fighting wars is a natural part of being human Public figures should not be judged by their private lives What is "normal" is decided by the society we live in Causing offence should be a consequence of freedom of speech, not a reason for it The environment should not get in the way of development
55 56 57 58 59 60
Homeschooling does not provide a holistic education Voting should be compulsory The press has power without responsibility There are too many people on earth Catholic priests should be allowed to marry Older generations are to blame for the problems of today
61 62 63 64 65 66
The iPad is here: books are a thing of the past Governments should always be collectively responsible for the actions of their members Smoking should be banned Family life is doomed Written examinations are the least effective form of assessment Torturing terrorists is justified when thousands of lives are at stake
67 68 69 70 71 72
Education should be means tested Our votes don't count anyway, why bother? Censorship is necessary and sensible Reality TV is nothing of the kind and should be banned The use of animals in sport is cruelty and should be prohibited Beauty contests degrade women
73 74 75 76 77 78
The alcohol age limit should be raised to 21 Referendums are just an excuse to say no Political correctness kills freedom of speech Governments should not fund the arts The state should fund human cloning Education today puts learning before living
79 80 81 82 83 84
Bullying in school should be punished by expulsion Queen Elizabeth II should be the last monarch The right to die is the logical extension of the right to life Further education is a privilege, not a right The slaughter of animals for religious purposes should be banned All pay should be performance-related
85 86 87 88 89 90
Leaving sex education to parents is an abdication of state responsibility Democracy is a sham Individuals should be required to opt out of organ donation, rather than opt in Religion has no place in schools Full employment should be the aim of the state Peace is possible