Senior Open Morning
Wednesday 18 March 2026
News
MFL Inter School Debating Competition
24 February 2026
The Cathedral School hosted its first ever Modern Foreign Languages debating competition this week, attended by local independent and state schools.
Debates were held in French, German and Spanish and featured intense and spirited debates on a range of provocative topics, including German music is uninteresting, French films are too artistic and There is no point in Spanish festivals like the Tomatina.
The level of competition was fierce, with participants displaying impressive skills in arguments and persuasion. From all accounts, it was evident that many future barristers were in the making with expert dissection of opposition arguments! Indeed, there was a decidedly meaty encounter between two Cathedral teams, and it was great to see a good sense of camaraderie and respect amongst the teams. Special recognition goes to Emma N, Chris F and Salma A whose language proficiency was so exceptional that the judges were convinced they were native speakers. Their fluency and command of their respective languages set a high bar for the competition. Thank you to our language ambassadors for their help on the night. They went above and beyond to assist throughout the event and visiting schools were notably impressed by their kindness, warmth and politeness.
In terms of results, Cathedral A (Chris F and Henry T) triumphed in the German competition, beating Cardiff Sixth Form in the final. Bishop of Llandaff were victors in the French final with the two CSL teams putting in spirited displays in their rounds. The Spanish Cathedral team (Salma A, Onkon R and George P) claimed victory against St John's in the Spanish competition.
Overall, the event was a fantastic display of talent, teamwork, enthusiasm for languages. The faculty was very impressed with all the participants and looks forward to hosting the next debates.
Click the image below to see more photos from the competition
