Dubai English Speaking College win the COBIS Student World Debate Competition in their first year of attendance!
Jumeirah College hosted the 2018 COBIS Student World Debate Competition from 1-3 February, during which exciting topics were fiercely debated in an effort to win the trophy.
The competition started with a fun evening, allowing the teams to get to know one another while sampling local cuisine with explanations from top chefs.
The Friday morning started with all the students rising to the occasion to debate the motions; "This house believes that countries that supply arms are as guilty as those that use them" and "This house believes poor teaching is to blame for poor exam performance". These two rounds allowed students to display their excellent preparation and research, as well their problem-solving and creative thinking skills.
The last two serious rounds of the day led to highly charged debates with the motions "This house proposes that toxic masculinity is the most dangerous evil to affect society" and "This house believes that the development of artificial intelligence high functioning intelligence presents too many risks".
The showcase debate closed the events for Friday, with the motion "This house believes that beauty is only skin deep". The motion was contested in good spirits, with the audience voting the proposition as the winning team.
Students enjoyed an evening spent on a Dhow Cruise, seeing Dubai Old Town aboard a traditional boat.
Saturday started with the final group motion "This house believes that organ donation should be made compulsory". With progression to the quarter finals at stake, there were some very close debates and even a tie between Dubai English Speaking College B and British School of Bucharest.
The quarter-finals saw the International British School of Bucharest, Dubai English Speaking College (B), JESS Dubai and British School in The Netherlands progress to the semi-finals of the Plate Competition and English International College, Dubai English Speaking College (A), Dubai College (B) and Dubai College (A) progress in the Cup Competition.
The semi-finals of the Cup Competition saw the two Dubai College teams take on one another with Dubai College (B) victorious and Dubai English Speaking College (A) progressing, with last year's winners English International College going no further. A Dubai derby was set for the final!
The semi-finals of the Plate Competition saw the British School in The Netherlands and the International British School of Bucharest progressing to the final after beating JESS Dubai and Dubai English Speaking College (B) respectively.
The final motion was well fought and a controversial debate was had in both finals. The teams debated "This house believes that minimum refugee quotas should be mandatory for all countries as a condition of UN membership". The British School in The Netherlands and the International British School of Bucharest put forward well-measured and thought-provoking arguments with the International British School of Bucharest being awarded the Plate.
The Cup final saw Dubai College (B) take on Dubai English Speaking College (A), a team they had previously beaten in the group stages. All of the students used excellent examples and insights in their speeches and although extremely close, Dubai English Speaking College (A) were crowned the winners of the Cup Competition.
Schools that took part (* indicates a student from this team took part in the Showcase Debate)
- Jumeirah College (A)
- Jumeirah College (B)*
- British School of Bucharest*
- Rygaards International School*
- Dubai English Speaking College (A)*
- Dubai English Speaking College (B)
- Corona Secondary School
- Azerbaijan British School
- Dubai College (A)
- Dubai College (B)*
- International British School of Bucharest
- Children's International School
- International School of Moscow
- British School in Baku
- English International College
- JESS, Dubai*
- The British School in The Netherlands*
- Prince of Wales Island International School*
COBIS would like to thank the staff and students at Jumeirah College for hosting this event.