SCOTLAND has won the World Schools Debating Championships in Belgrade.
An annual English-language debating tournament for high school-level teams, Scotland was initially ranked 11th this year out of 68 countries for the 2024 edition.
But incredible performances saw the debating team – made up of Sophie Hannigan, Miya Turner, Logan Moss, Callum Hendry and Lena Zielinska – face New Zealand, Pakistan, England and Qatar along the way before facing and triumphing against Bulgaria in the final.
Scotland are declared the winners of the 2024 World Schools Debating Championships: pic.twitter.com/yutc9QttUE
— Team Scotland WSDC (@ScotWSDC) July 25, 2024
The team represent schools from across Scotland including Broxburn Academy, St Columba’s School, Dollar Academy and Portobello High School.
Moss told The National that the experience will prove "unforgettable".
"To be able to meet people from a range of different countries and cultures who, nonetheless, shared our passion for what we often feel to be a slightly odd, niche activity was one thing," he said.
"But more than this was being able to know that, in spite of the polarisation and social media-based wrangling that seems to have devoured today’s world, there is still a place - among the young - for reasoned, critical discussion. This is something from which we can all benefit, and I’m honoured to say that I have.”
Over the last few months, the team trained extensively with their coaches for this prestigious competition.
That included Jordan Pfotenhauer, who hailed the performance, adding that coaching the teenagers was a "privilege".
He added: "They worked tirelessly for years to achieve this result, giving up their evenings and weekends to take part in training sessions and competitions. They kept their cool throughout the extremely high-stakes competition, never letting their nerves get the better of them. Debating is an invaluable educational tool and I hope this result encourages more Scottish young people to take it up.”
Scotland - which hosted the championship in 2011 – came in 8th in last year’s edition, which at the time was the team’s best result in 10 years.
First Minister John Swinney (below) congratulated the team, writing on Twitter/X: "Warmest congratulations to Team Scotland, who have won the World Schools Debating Championships."
Warmest congratulations to Team Scotland @ScotWSDC who have won the World Schools Debating Championships https://t.co/ihOXWowPKT
— John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) July 26, 2024
Ruth Wishart, meanwhile, said: "We have a very fine tradition of debating at all ages and levels. Long may it continue."
The University of Edinburgh's Lesley Stark also highlighted Scotland's strong debating history.
She wrote on Twitter/X: "This is an amazing achievement for these pupils. Debating is a skill that is important in many professions (academic writing is about arguing your case). I am very pleased this is being promoted in Scottish schools."
