Victory for Musaeus on 122nd birthday

Musaeus College was crowned winners of The Debater, the popular All Island School Debating Competition at the Grand Finale concluded on November 8, 2013. With well-argued points and sharp retorts, the four debaters from Musaeus eloquently convinced the judges and the audience, and fought off opponents Loyola College, Negombo to win the award for the Best Debating Team at the Inter-School contest. Musaeus College and Loyola College reached the finals of the competition after beating off stiff competition from 70 schools from all around the country. At the finals, the two schools displayed their debating skills in front of an audience of over 1,300 and a bench consisting of seven judges from the legal and academic fields.

The championship motion was 'Should Parliament discussions be telecast live', with Loyola College proposing. While both teams demonstrated high standards, at the end of the battle of words, it was the confident Musaeus team that triumphed.

The winning team comprised Pamodi Pemasiri (Captain), Shameesha Samarasinghe, Manuji Guruge and Chintahni Kumaradasa, coached by Sanjeewa Alwis under the guidance of the teacher in-charge Wasantha Ekanayake, both of whom played a vital role in the team's victory together with the much dedicated parents.

Introduced in 2004, the Debating and Oratory Forum of Musaeus College was a brainchild of Rohini Paranawithana, a former teacher and has come a long way with many achievements under its belt. The team's performance throughout the one year journey towards this victory at The Debator was consistently impressive, earning notable wins at group stage and securing their position in the finals by eliminating Holy Cross College, Gampaha in a closely battled semi-final.

The final victory could not have come at a more opportune time for the College, as it turned out as an early birthday present to Mother Musaeus who proudly celebrated her 122nd Birthday on November 15, 2013.

This achievement by the Musaeus girls, is a fitting tribute to the school's Founding Principal, Marie Musaeus Higgins who devoted the best part of her life for the emancipation of Sinhala Buddhist women at an era when the Sinhala Buddhist way of education for girls was no more and they were kept in virtual house-imprisonment; who worked to gently cure the Sinhala girls out of their backwardness and timidity, reviving their dormant skills and drooping spirits with the vista of new horizons and inspiring them to carry their head high once again in dignity and self-assurance.