Children from four London Jewish primaries were encouraged to find their voice this week at a Chanukah Zoom debating festival.

The event, hosted by Nancy Reuben Primary in Hendon, involved pupils too from Beit Shvidler, the Independent Jewish Day School and Yavneh Primary.

Teams debated such topics as “presents should not be given on Chanukah” and “term dates should be moved so that Chanukah is never in term time”.

Nancy Reuben headteacher Anthony Wolfson said the initiative was “set up to not only help children learn the art of polite disagreement, gain in confidence in speaking, listening and presenting a coherent argument but to help bring our schools closer together at a time when so many opportunities for working collaboratively are not possible.”

Nancy Reuben’s debating programme, led by deputy head Daniel Sunshine, has also included events with other schools across the country and international debates are planned for next year.

Any school that fancies a debate with Nancy Reuben should contact daniel.sunshine@nrps.co.uk .