# The Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament

The Donald Dewar Memorial Debating Tournament is a national debating competition held throughout the year in Scottish Secondary Schools. It is one of the leading debating tournaments in Scotland and is organised annually by the Law Society of Scotland. It was created in 1999 to mark the Law Society of Scotland's 50th anniversary. It was later renamed in order to remember the life, work and passion of Donald Dewar, the first First Minister of Scotland. Since 2006, the final of the tournament has often been held in the debating chamber of The Scottish Parliament, in Edinburgh. In 2015, Jamie MacLeod and Ewan Redpath won the competition for Madras College. The 2016 competition had 128 teams participating, with winners Finlay Allmond and Caitlin Sherret from Nairn Academy. Craigmount High School have won the competition a record three times- in 2007 2012, and 2014. Madras College, Glasgow Academy, Peebles High School, and Robert Gordon's College are the only other schools to have won the competition more than once.

## Format of The Competition

The competition has four stages of debate. These take place throughout Scottish Secondary Schools from November to June, with the final being held in the Scottish Parliament.
| Round | Format | Venues |
| 1 | Teams are given two weeks to prepare | Host Secondary School |
| 2 | Teams are given two weeks to prepare | Host Secondary School |
| Semi-Finals | Teams are given one hour to prepare | Host Secondary School |
| Final | Teams are given three weeks to prepare | Scottish Parliament |
In 2023, the motion for the competition's final was subject to a late change, due to the fact that there was a death in the local community that was thought to be related to TikTok. This lead the Law Society of Scotland to change the motion from, "This House would ban TikTok", to "This House would support government intervention to prevent gentrification". Additionally, there was a change in the format of the semi-final debates due to heavy snow, meaning that some of the heats had to be moved online.

## Winners

| Year | Winning school | Speakers | Runners-up | Speakers |
| 2024 | Broxburn Academy | Finlay Sayers, Sarah Pym | Balfron High School | |
| 2023 | Broxburn Academy | Emma Bell, Ruby Ferguson | Balfron High School | |
| 2022 | Fortrose Academy | | The High School of Glasgow | |
| 2021 | Peebles High School | | Thurso High School | |
| 2020 | Peebles High School | | Balfron High School | |
| 2019 | Bearsden Academy | | Balfron High School | |
| 2018 | Peebles High School | | Perth High School | |
| 2017 | Douglas Academy | | High School of Dundee | |
| 2016 | Nairn Academy | Finlay Allmond, Caitlin Sherret | | |
| 2015 | Madras College | Jamie Macleod, Ewan Redpath | Preswick Academy | |
| 2014 | Craigmount High School | Liam Stewart, Michael Davidson | Douglas Academy | Rosie Duthie, Amitai Gottleib |
| 2013 | Robert Gordon's College | | Glenalmond College | |
| 2012 | Craigmount High School | Cameron Craig | | |
| 2011 | Braes High School | | | |
| 2010 | Glasgow Academy | Séamus Macdonald McGuigan, Oscar Lee | | |
| 2009 | Glasgow Academy | Allen Farrington, Cosmo Grant | | |
| 2008 | Robert Gordon's College | Joanna Farmer, Michael Sim | High School of Dundee | |
| 2007 | Craigmount High School | | High School of Dundee | |
| 2006 | Dollar Academy | | Hutcheson's Grammar School | |
| 2005 | George Heriot's School | | Robert Gordon's College | |