Debating skills are central to our democracy, but without good media coverage to report on what goes on in parliament, the entire political process breaks down. This year, we are searching for young audience members attending rounds of the ESU Schools Mace to write reports on the debates in the style of a Parliamentary sketch writer.

And there are two ways you can file your report:

Write an article: audience members could write a report of up to 600 words on a round that they attend. The report should aim to be objective and unbiased while remaining interesting to read and conveying a sense of the round's atmosphere as well as its arguments

Film or Record the debate: Record the evening, reporting on the proceedings and editing it into a 2 minute news item. Remember, if you wish to film the event, you will need to receive permission from those you are filming. Permission slips and more information about uploading your videos are available below.

Good newspaper reporters need to meet deadlines; reports should be filed to centre@esu.org no later than one week following the debates on which the report is based. The report should state where and when the debates took place, as well as the name, age and school of the student reporter and contact details for the teacher who attended the round with them.

We will aim to publish as many reports as possible online. Particular credit will be given to students who send us proof that all or part of their report was published in a school or local newspaper.

The winner of the competition will win a trip to London, whether they will join parliamentary sketch writer Quentin Letts for a debate at the Houses of Parliament. The prize also includes a digital camera.

Uploading your video

• Once you have shot and edited your video, you will now need to upload it onto YouTube. Create a YouTube account here if your school does not already have one.
• Go to your new YouTube account > my videos and click New Video Upload.
• Once your video has uploaded, email us with a link to your video.

Download Permission Slip