St Thomas’ College holds Inter-School English Debate “Spectrum 2026”

my uttarakhand news Bureau
Dehradun, 4 Oct: St Thomas’ College, Dehradun, organised its Inter-School English Debate Competition, “Spectrum 2026”, today, with the participation of five schools of Dehradun — Carman School (Dalanwala), Convent of Jesus & Mary School, St Joseph’s Academy, St Jude’s School and St Thomas’ College.
The topic for the debate was “Smart Phones Have Made Smart People Stupid”, which had been communicated to the participating schools a day in advance to allow students adequate time for preparation.

The competition provided a valuable platform for young speakers to express their views, sharpen their critical-thinking abilities and develop the confidence to articulate their opinions with conviction and composure.
An interesting feature of the competition was the ‘Turncoat’ Round, in which one participant from each school was required to speak on a randomly allotted topic. Each speaker had to present arguments in favour of the motion for one minute and, at the stroke of the bell, immediately switch sides and speak against it. The round tested the participants’ spontaneity, presence of mind, debating skills and ability to think on their feet.
The topics for the Turn Coat Round were: History Is a Boring Subject; Online Teaching Is Better Than Classroom Teaching; Co-Educational Schools Are Better Than Single-Gender Schools; Cats Are Better Pets Than Dogs; Should Examinations Be Replaced with Continuous Assessment?
The morning proved to be intellectually stimulating, with participants presenting well-researched arguments, demonstrating confidence, clarity of thought and impressive oratory skills.
As the host institution, St Thomas’ College did not compete for the Overall Running Trophy. St Joseph’s Academy was declared the Winner, while Convent of Jesus & Mary School emerged as the Runner-up in the “Spectrum 2026” Inter-School English Debate Competition.
The Best Speaker (For the Motion) award was presented to Samaira Kukreja of St Joseph’s Academy, while Arjit Solanki of St Jude’s School received the Best Speaker (Against the Motion) award.
The Best Speaker (Turncoat Category) award was conferred on Samaira Kukreja of St Joseph’s Academy.
The Chief Guest was G.I.G. Mann, ex-Thomasian, ex-MLA & Director, Carman Residential & Day School, Dehradun, who gave away the prizes. In his address, he inspired the participants with his words of encouragement, commended their debating abilities and appreciated the excellent organisation and conduct of the event.
The panel of judges comprised C Jain, an accomplished educationist and retired Principal with over four decades of experience in teaching and school leadership. She is an alumna of St Thomas’ College, who also served the school as a teacher for 28 years teaching English and Music. V Kalia, retired from St Joseph’s Academy as Head of English Department. At present she is Director in Doon World School. And Ratna Manucha, a distinguished academician, author, poet, storyteller and columnist. Founder of Little Flower School, Dehradun, she has authored 34 books and has also served as an announcer with All India Radio.
The event concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by the Principal, R.V. Gardner (ex-MLA).