In April, Grades 4-6 students competed in the World Scholar’s Cup here in Cambodia where 12 of them received winning medals. Two teams also qualified for the Global Round competition in Hanoi, Athens or Cape Town.

The World Scholar’s Cup brings over 20,000 students together in 50 countries every year. The aim of the World Scholar’s Cup is to inspire young students from all backgrounds to love learning, gain confidence in new skills, and have a sense of global citizenship. The competition consists of testing students in debates, essay writing and multiple-choice questions in all school subjects.

Of our two teams that qualified for the Global Round, one of our Grade 6 students went on to compete in South Africa in August and won two gold medals!

In the Junior Division (competing against students her own age and older), she competed in debates and writing assignments with new teammates. We asked her about her experience competing and what she thought of South Africa in this short interview.

CIS: Congratulations on your medals! Can you tell us a bit about your time in South Africa and the competition?

CIS Student: Well, we had to reschedule our flights because we needed my birth certificate but we didn’t know that so we were a day late to South Africa but my parents and I arrived on August 10th for the five-day competition. The World Scholar’s Cup mainly focuses on debating and writing. I was the only one from Cambodia who went. I competed against students my age and also older students – up to Grade 8 – in the Junior Division. There were about 300-400 students in total competing.

CIS: Tell us about how the competition works.

CIS Student: I had to pick a new team; we competed in teams of 3 and my teammates were both from South Africa. You (the team of 3) are mostly tested in debates. For the debate portion, they would give us a subject/topic and then we had 15 minutes to research (we had to bring our own computers) and prepare for the debate. Each person in the group of 3 was assigned a different portion of the debate to research. We were assigned to argue for or against the chosen topic. The first time I competed I had to argue against and then we would switch.

CIS: Are your medals from winning debates?

CIS Student: Yes, both were won from debating with my team.

CIS: Other than winning two gold medals, did you enjoy your trip to South Africa?

CIS Student: Yes, South Africa was fun! My favorite part was Point Cape. I took lots of photos! We had a full day of traveling with a private tour.

CIS: That’s great. We are glad you had such a good time and wish you good luck again this year when you compete with your peers!

Teachers at CIS have formed a Debate Club where they will meet once a week with students to prepare for the World Scholar’s Cup again this year. Best of luck to all of our students who will be preparing and competing!