COBIS Student World Debate Competition 2019

We were delighted to bring the COBIS Student World Debate Competition 2019, to the wonderful city of Bucharest, in partnership with the International British School of Bucharest, who hosted the competition from 7-9 February.

Students from 14 COBIS Member Schools took part in the competition and debated on a number of compelling topics, in an effort to bring back the winner's trophy. 

The event started with a fantastic activities day which gave all students the chance to get to know one other and forge international friendships. The day included a tour of the National Village Museum, a traditional Romanian lunch and an afternoon trip to an ice-skating rink. 

The competition was held in the impressive Sheraton Hotel in Bucharest, where all teams stayed for at least three nights. Friday morning saw the start of the competition, as students debated on their prepared motion; 'This house believes that the human species has a bright future to look forward to'. This round allowed students to display their excellent preparation and research. After this, all teams took part in two impromptu debates, where students showed off their very impressive problem-solving and creative thinking skills.

The showcase debate closed the events for Friday, with the motion 'This house believes that money can buy happiness'. The motion was contested in good spirits, with teams made up of some of the top debaters of the day from different schools. On the Friday evening, teams were treated to a Medieval Dinner in a themed restaurant. 

On Saturday, the competition heated up, as teams battled it out in either the Silver Plate or Cup tournaments. The final of the Silver Plate competition saw the English International College in Marbella compete against Edron Academy, Mexico. This final was a well fought and a controversial debate around whether education was better in single-sex schools.

The Cup final saw the International British School of Bucharest take on Dubai College. Both teams put forward insightful and thought-provoking arguments around whether the teaching of Science and Technology was more important than the teaching of Arts. After a thrilling finale, team opposition, Dubai College were crowned the winners of the Cup Competition. 

The competition closed with a prize giving ceremony, where all teams were presented with awards and certificates by two very special guests, the British Ambassador to Romania, Andrew Noble and the Director at British Romanian Chamber of Commerce, Charlie Crocker.

Congratulations to all the schools that took part:

  • British School of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
  • British School of Bucharest (Romania)
  • British School of Caracas (Venezuela)
  • Dubai College (UAE)
  • Edron Academy (Mexico)
  • English International College, Marbella (Spain)
  • International British School of Bucharest (Romania)
  • Jumeirah College (UAE)
  • King’s College, The British School of Madrid (Spain)
  • New Cairo British International School (Egypt)
  • Olashore International School (Nigeria)
  • Prague British International School (Czech Republic)
  • Rygaards International School (Denmark)
  • St George’s International School (Luxembourg)

Congratulations to Dubai College for winning the COBIS Student World Debate Competition 2019.

COBIS would like to thank the staff and students at the International British School of Bucharest for their excellent hosting of the COBIS Student World Debate Competition 2019. 

For more information on previous competitions, please click the links below.

Details of the COBIS Student World Debate Competition 2020 will be displayed on our website later this year. For more information, please contact students@cobis.org.uk.