Members of the commission and university officials were more than pleased to point out the similarities between the two rhetorical contests, saying the commission's 13 years of existence, and its fourth presidential election cycle, were testimony to its effectiveness as an educational organization.

CNN: Wait Chapel event a homecoming for the debate commission

The Education Secretary, David Blunkett, said on Sunday that he would be speaking to the Office for Standards in Education about evaluating the effectiveness of single sex teaching of some subjects in co-educational schools.

BBC: Single sex classes 'not the answer'