BD origin Selina bags UK’s prestigious debate award

Selina Begum, 16, a student of Bangladeshi origin in United Kingdom, recently won the best debater award at the prestigious Eton Autumn Invitational competition beating 200 other students in Britain.

Selina, placed her arguments on junk food, rights to privacy and the abolition of the death penalty in the US and became the first student from a state-funded school to bag the award.
 
Among the top six speakers in the competition, Selina by her convincing speech and debating performance claimed the overall title of Best Individual Speaker at Eton, which is considered among the UK’s best private schools.

“To be a part of the debate was a privilege itself and to be acknowledged for that was even better,” said Selina, while speaking on the BBC News Channel's Afternoon Live.

“It is quite intense and intimidating but it is about having that drive and ambition that we are just as good as any of the others and we have been prepared for this. So, it’s about having self-belief and knowing you can get through it,” she said.

“My parents have always instilled a drive in me to aim higher. As they were not privileged enough to go to college and study, they have always backed me from day one,” she added.

Earlier this month, the teenager with her three classmates had travelled from Newham Collegiate Sixth Form based in the east end of London to Eton College, on the outskirts of Windsor, to take part in the annual debate competition.

Selina wants to pursue her studies in history at Oxford University and she is now focusing on getting the right grades to get into one of the world’s most famous educational institutions.

Jerome Singh, Selina’s tutor and debate coordinator at Newham Collegiate Sixth Form said “What we want to embed in the school is the culture of success and the confidence that anyone can achieve success if provided with the right tools,”

A large number of Newham based Bangladeshi background students are studying in the Newham Collegiate Sixth Form, located in one of London’s less well-off boroughs.

Source: unb