Sponsors

Debating matters because ideas matter. This is the premise of the Academy of Ideas Debating Matters Competition, which emphasises substance over style, and the importance of taking ideas seriously. Debating Matters challenges 16‐19 year olds to go beyond the media headlines and delve deeper into some of the big issues confronting society. It’s about giving young people a tough intellectual challenge and getting them to examine and weigh up competing perspectives and evidence for themselves. If your organisation shares our outlook and aims, we want to hear form you.
The Debating Matters Competition is currently split into twelve regions across the UK. Our regions for the 2016/17 competition are listed below, and we detail which counties, areas or councils they include.
CENTRAL
Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire
EAST
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Rutland, Suffolk and southern Lincolnshire
LONDON INNER
Camden, Hackney, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Tower Hamlets, Westminster, and the City of London
LONDON NORTH
Barking & Dagenham, Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Havering, Hillgdon, Hounslow, Newham, Redbridge, Waltham Forest
LONDON SOUTH
Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sutton, Wandsworth
NORTH EAST
Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear
NORTH WEST & NORTH WALES
Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, North Wales
SCOTLAND & NORTHERN IRELAND
All of Scotland & Northern Ireland
SOUTH
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire
SOUTH EAST
Kent, East Sussex, Surrey, West Sussex
WEST & SOUTH WALES
Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Somerset, South Wales
YORKSHIRE
East Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire
FURTHER HELP
If you are interested in supporting Debating Matters, contact our partnerships manager, Jacob Reynolds.