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Nina Saiful and Aziara Esham MAKTAB SAINS PADUKA SERI BEGAWAN SULTAN Katok Sixth Form Centre won The 14th Brunei Darussalam Inter School Senior Level English Debate Competition after beating Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan on 4th May, 2010. The winning team supported the motion “Ecotourism benefits the local population.” Guest of honour was permanent Secretary (Core Education) Datin Paduka Hajah Apsah Haji Abdul Majid. The competitors representing Katok Sixth Form Centre were ecstatic when they were announced the winner, especially Jarrod Sim Cheng Jie who was crowned the 'Best Speaker' of the final. “I'm really happy with how the team worked and they put in a lot of effort,” the bubbly Malaysian said, adding, “I think our team prepared pretty well, we rely on our notes but to a certain extent.” Raihan Nabilah Hj Ahmad Ghazali, the Maktab Sains senior debate team captain expressed in an interview before the debate finals: “we're relieved that we won (against MD in the semi-finals), we've never been against PTE Katok and this year's is an entirely new team but we're looking forward to competing against them and we'll try our best. I know some of them. They're really good, tough competition but hopefully we can do it.” Raihan also mentioned how hard her team prepared for the competition. “We practice every afternoon, very intense training.” The acting principal of Maktab Sains, Ck. Sarimah mentioned the knowledge the debaters gain from this experience. “They learn to develop public speaking skills such as [to gain] confidence and to explore issues.” Maktab Sains' loss did not dampen her support and optimism. “It's okay, this competition is not about winning,” she told the media, “it is about learning in the process and getting involved in the debate.” Maktab Sains is known to be an active participant in numerous inter school competitions that involve public speaking. Students gain confidence as they learn to voice their opinions and views about serious matters, including global issues. MS Minute |