Writes Samuel W. (U6th)
On Tuesday 24th March, Sam D. (U6th) and I participated in the Joutes oratories lycéennes nationales, a debating competition for A Level French students, at the French Institute in South Kensington. Having won our regional semi-final in February, we earned the right to compete amongst a select group of teams debating motions ranging from “Il faut interdire les voitures aux centres-villes” (we must ban cars from city centres) to the more philosophical “Il faut s’ennuyer” (we must get bored). After a victory against Wellington College, we suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of eventual finalists Winchester. However, the team did receive the “coup de coeur”, recognising an outstanding team performance despite missing out on the final four.
The experience highlighted the extent of our progress as linguists; we entered – or rather, were entered into – the same competition in 2025, achieving nowhere near the same level of success. However, we were keen to return. The confidence and fluency with which we spoke this time would simply have been unimaginable a year ago.
Although I would rank the 2025 Joutes oratoires among my most daunting experiences, I enjoyed every single minute of our 2026 exploits. Our debating journey truly demonstrates the value of pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, which is the great advantage of learning a language; it is an endless journey which is both humbling and richly rewarding. Our debating performances reflect the intellectual and personal growth that we have achieved during our A Level French course, and of this we can be immensely proud.
What a difference a year makes!
