On Friday, 26 th November, Königin-Olga-Stift’s Senior Debaters faced off against powerful
opponents in the first two debates of the annual Senior League of Germany.
Put against fellow bilingual school Stiftsgymnasium Sindelfingen and Johannes-Kepler-
Gymnasium Bad Cannstatt, they heatedly debated the topic of equal parental leave in families
with two parents (“This House believes that in families with two parents, both parents should
have to take the same amount of parental leave”) and the topic of portraying electric cars as
sustainable (“This House regrets the portrayal of the electric car as a sustainable technology”).
“I think the opposition was a formidable debating opponent,” Taha Siddiqui, a student rejoining
Debating, remembers. “But thanks to my confident colleagues and the helpful preparation with
my mentor Mr Schuster, I am grateful to say that I didn’t feel nervous. In fact, I was actually
quite happy to debate again.”
After a tense afternoon of verbal confrontations and intensive arguments, the 6 judges
unanimously awarded Königin-Olga-Stift Gymnasium the victory in both debates.
These are the first two successes of the brand-new Senior team. Last summer, they bade several
older debaters farewell and welcomed numerous less experienced debaters to Senior Debating.
Among them, Jasko Stadtmann, Taha Siddiqui, Maja Mühlthaler, Husayn Manager, Anhad
Mitter, Atharv Mahendrakar and Yuye Qian have been essential in preparing for both debates.
“The new Senior Debating team has got lots of potential,” Pranav Priyadarshi, the team captain,
assures. “Sure, three debaters made their Senior League debuts on Friday- our team is by no
means highly experienced. But we have a motivated, committed squad, and I have the feeling
that we all can work together really well.”
In February 2022, the next two rounds of the Senior League will take place with Königin-Olga-
Stift against two even stronger teams from other bilingual schools. We wish Olga’s Senior
Debating team the best of luck.
Yuye Qian, 9c