In today's Weekend section of The Daily Telegraph, I was taken on a trip down Memory Lane to something I used to do at school in house competitions, namely debating.  I am sure the skills learnt from this helped me in no small part to get through my entry interview at university and, in later life, to be able to address an audience whether in a business meeting at work or on the sports training ground.

Max Davidson is thrilled that his own 15 year old daughter is starting to take part in school debates.  He feels that debating has become a redundant art and one which schools neglect at their peril.  His article opens by drawing a comparison between English Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and US President, George Bush, as Blair has to do Prime Minister's Question Time once a week trying to score points off the main opposition leader, while Bush does not.

Davidson concludes a poignant piece by saying:

"The schoolchildren of today are more likely to be taught IT skills than the art of public speaking.  They will need those skills in the adult world.  But they will not be the slightest use to them when they find themselves thrust into the limelight and hear the dreaded words:  "Pray silence for...""