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 and was held 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 been held in the debating chamber of The Scottish Parliament, in Edinburgh. The current holders are Jamie MacLeod and Ewan Redpath of Madras College, St Andrews. Craigmount High School have won the competition a record three times. Glasgow Academy and Robert Gordon's College are the only other schools to have won the competition more than once.

Format of The Competition

The debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament, the venue of the finals since 2006

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

See also


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