Kenilworth Multi Academy Trust to hold Great Debate event again this year
Kenilworth Multi Academy Trust (KMAT) will again hold its Great Debate event this year and has promised it will be “broader and more competitive than ever before”.
Last year’s tournament was a landmark event.
Nineteen schools from across Coventry and Warwickshire battled through the qualification rounds, with 12 earning their place in a fiercely contested Grand Final.
Since then, the competition has gone from strength to strength.
A hugely successful National Showcase, delivered in partnership with the University of Warwick, demonstrated just how powerful the KMAT Great Debate model has become.
The launch of the Feed the Debate Key Stage 2 pilot opened the door for younger pupils, while at Kenilworth School the debate culture has become firmly embedded.
An internal Year 7 Debate Tournament – organised, chaired and judged by experienced student debaters – showed just how far the competition has come.
The 2026 Coventry and Warwickshire KMAT Great Debate will feature at least twice as many schools as the 2025 competition.
Demand has been so high that an additional qualification tournament has had to be added to accommodate the growing field.
This is no longer simply a county competition. Schools from beyond the borders of Coventry and Warwickshire have accepted invitations to compete as guests—some returning after impressing at the National Showcase, others experiencing the format for the very first time.
Kenilworth School and Westwood Academy will lead the charge into another season.
Both schools begin a new era, having bid farewell to the exceptional Year 9 teams that represented them so successfully at the National Showcase.
Kenilworth, in particular, will miss reigning 2025 individual champion Louise, whose decorated peers now move with Across the county, many established competitors are back for another campaign.
Campion School, The Kingsley School and Arnold Lodge return from Leamington, joined once again by Warwick School. Rugby’s determined Avon Valley School is back to challenge for honours, while Kineton School, Queen Elizabeth Academy and Hartshill Academy all return hoping to build on previous experience.
After a year-long absence, Lawrence Sheriff School will also re-join the competition.
Having produced the 2024 individual runner-up, the Rugby school will be eager to remind everyone of its debating pedigree.