The English-Speaking Union Schools' Mace is an annual debating tournament for secondary schools in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The competition was founded in 1957 by the journalist Kenneth Harris of The Observer newspaper, and was initially known as The Observer Schools' Mace. Since 1995, the tournament has been organised by the English-Speaking Union, with assistance from several regional convenors. The equivalent competition for universities in the UK and Ireland is the John Smith Memorial Mace.