2026 British Parliamentary Competition

British Parliamentary (BP) style debates have four teams of two speakers who debate a motion (topic). Two teams debate in the affirmative role as the Government and two debate in the negative role as the Opposition. Teams on the same side of the topic (Government or Opposition) must remain consistent with each other, but are still competing against one another. At the conclusion of the debate, the adjudicator ranks teams in the debate from first to fourth. This means that two teams on the same side of a topic may get very different results.

The DAV hosts annual BP competitions for Junior (years 7 to 8), Intermediate (years 9-10) and Senior (years 11 to 12) divisions. Each competition takes place over a single day, with students participating in a training session conducted by experienced British Parliamentary debaters, before taking part in a three round tournament of debates. The winning teams then compete for the title in a grand final, held on a separate day. The BP Competition offers students an excellent grounding in British Parliamentary style, as well as the opportunity to develop new skills in a friendly and competitive environment.

Schools may enter up to 4 teams, and each team may have 2-3 students.

The cost per team is $155

Senior British Parliamentary Competition

Date: Sunday 13th September

Venue: St. Kevin's College

Time: 9am - 5pm

Register via this form by Monday 7th September.

Intermediate British Parliamentary Competition

Date: Sunday 23rd August

Venue: Huntingtower School

Time: 9am - 5pm

Register via this form by Monday 10th August.

Junior British Parliamentary Competition

Date: Sunday 25th October

Venue: Loreto Mandevill Hall

Time: 9am - 5pm

Register via this form by Monday 12th October.

For more information about the program, please contact the DAV Office at debater@dav.com.au.