Brauer students talk the talk and win

Dream team: Brauer College mooting and debating team coaches Anne Knappett and Emma Williams with team members (front row) Freya Cole, Justin Powell, (back row) Tom Ballard, Andrei Khaidurov and Matthew Orchard.

BRAUER College has reinforced its reputation as Australia’s premier school for public speaking and debating, taking out the talk circuit’s hat trick.

In the last month, the Warrnambool school has won the National Apex Debating Championship, the National Bond University Mooting Championship and the State Plain English Speaking Competition.

Brauer College becomes the only school in Australia to have won the Bond Mooting Championship twice (in 1996 and this year) and, this year becomes the only school in Australia to have held both national titles simultaneously.

“We are so proud of our students, their efforts and hard work,” principal Michael Cusick said.

“The achievements are also the result of the hard work of our staff over a long and sustained period of time and a strong public speaking culture within the school,” Mr Cusick added, noting also the contribution of several founding directors.

A team of three students — Tom Ballard (Year 12), Justin Powell (Year 11) and Andrei Khaidurov (Year 12) — represented the school at the National Mooting Championship, held in Queensland in late July, with Justin also taking out the coveted Best Advocate Medallion. Mooting is simulating the legal argument that lawyers present in court during an appeal. The trio admitted that at the start of the year they didn’t even know what mooting meant. Despite this they were able to use their research and debating skills to win their way through regional and state finals and then the prestigious national final, which was held before a judge.

They argued a case in which a 15-year-old girl had attended a party held at her school and become drunk. She then drove a ride-on lawnmower into a hole that had been dug out to build a new swimming pool. The girl successfully sued the school for her injuries and the students were representing the school in an appeal.

The college’s debating co-ordinator Emma Williams said Brauer College was one of only two government schools to make it to the Gold Coast national final.

The college’s successful National Apex Debating Champion team comprised Tom Ballard, Freya Cole (Year 11), Matthew Orchard (Year 12) and Justin Powell.

The third leg of Brauer College’s extraordinary trifecta was the State Championship of the Plain English Speaking Competition, won by Tom Ballard, who is now preparing for the national competition, to be held in Canberra on August 20, and, if successful, he will have the opportunity to compete at an international level.

“We all feel very fortunate that our school is Brauer,” Tom said. “The opportunities are very extensive. There are lots of extracurricular programs that students can choose, including public speaking, sport, drama, and the outdoors.

“I think Brauer really encourages students to participate in public speaking to the best of their ability and that’s certainly been a huge benefit to me.

“Thanks to Brauer’s supportive teachers and parents, we’re able to enter into these competitions and compete at such a standard.”

Tom is the second student from Brauer College to win the Victorian section of the Plain English Speaking competition in five years. In 2003, Julien du Vergier went on to be runner-up in the national final and to represent Australia in London at the international competition.

On August 3, Tom and five other state finalists enthralled a packed audience at Treasury Theatre in Melbourne with speeches that tackled living with fear, heroes and communication challenges of the 21st Century. The title of Tom’s speech was ‘Bullying dot com’.

Four of the finalists came from government schools. Joining Tom were Terry Kenos ( Strathmore Secondary College), Kellymaree Butler (Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School) and Tallon Mason-Kaine ( Melbourne High School).

Earlier this year, Tom featured in the VCE Season of Excellence where he performed his Theatre Studies monologue at Top Class and Top Acts. Previous Victorian winners have gone on to study law and engineering but Tom’s ambition is to be an actor.

The Plain English Speaking Competition, managed in this state by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, began in Victoria in 1977. It grew into a national competition and is now in its 30th year.