From 2–4 November 2026, we welcomed five students and three teachers from the Friedrich-Spee-Gesamtschule in Paderborn, Germany. During their visit, the students had the opportunity to experience school life at St. Kilian’s by joining some of our regular classes. They also worked alongside a group of our Year 11 students to prepare for two friendly debates in German.
The first debate took place on Tuesday, with students exploring the motion: Should self-defence be a school subject? On Wednesday, the debate continued with the question: Should students get involved in cleaning their school? Both debates were enjoyable events with a great range of arguments on display, thoughtful contributions and plenty of discussion. The debaters rose to the challenge, while the audience enjoyed hearing the students’ different perspectives on these interesting topics.
For our second and final debate, we were delighted to welcome three independent adjudicators from the German Department at University College Dublin (UCD) and the Goethe-Institut Ireland. After a closely contested debate, congratulations go to Ivanna and Nora from St. Kilian’s, who ultimately convinced the adjudicators and secured a narrow victory! As winners, Ivanna and Nora were presented with a perpetual trophy. Our visiting students from Paderborn will have the opportunity to take part in another debate next year and with some luck take the trophy home.
A huge thank you to all our wonderful debaters for their outstanding contributions, to our adjudicators for generously giving their time, and to the German Department, particularly Frau Haupt, for organising these two fantastic events. It was a pleasure to welcome our German visitors, and we look forward to continuing this wonderful exchange and welcoming them back next year!
