Beneath the stern gaze of Mr G (the society's portrait of Victorian prime minister WE Gladstone, Fettes' first celebrity visitor and our Eternal Patron) on Tuesday we had the grand final of the 2020 Macleod Debating Competition.

Jamie T and Yuichiro N, who last term won the House Debating for Carrington, were on opposite sides, partnered by Aidan D and Seb S respectively. Jamie was proposing the motion, endorsed by Presidents Putin and Xi, that liberalism is obsolete. He put up a well-structured case which was nicely challenged by Seb; the second speakers engaged in some in-depth grappling and the summary speeches were clear.

In the end, the panel (including celebrity guests Miss Gueganton and Dr Clark) felt that the proposition points had stood up best, so Jamie and Aidan secured a narrow victory. In this 50th anniversary of the death of Iain Macleod, it is a pleasure to report that we have seen a lot of great debating this year in both our competitions, and that Fettes debaters are increasingly taking part in events beyond the school. Well done to all our debaters.

Report by DBM