Schools prepare for this challenge in accordance with the theme of TEC.
Three more precise primary-school topics and three more precise secondary-school topics will be published on this website three months before TEC. You can find them at the bottom of this page.
Each participating school registers one or two teams of four students. In the case of a large number of submitted teams, schools will be asked to send only one team – that is why we invite all schools to organise a school-level TEC!
At TEC, debate teams will be paired randomly. Then, one student from the first school will randomly draw one of the three topics, and one student from the second school will randomly be assigned either the proposition or the opposition.
Each pair of schools will have 30 minutes to finalise their debating strategy. This means that the pairing of schools and the drawing of the topic will take place 30 minutes before their debate.
The debate will proceed as follows, with one student responsible for speaking in each of the four rounds (i.e., all four students must actively participate and talk):
- Student 1
- Opening speech: 2 minutes for the proposition, 2 minutes for the opposition.
- Student 2
- Part 1: 1 minute for the opposition, 1 minute for the proposition.
- Student 3
- Part 2: 1 minute for the proposition, 1 minute for the opposition.
- Student 4
- Closing speech: 1 minute for the opposition, 1 minute for the proposition.
The judges will evaluate and provide feedback on each team before ultimately selecting the winner of the Debate Challenge based on the following criteria:
- debate performance and delivery
- clarity and persuasiveness
- confidence and poise
- engagement with the audience
- debate strategy and reasoning
- quality of arguments
- logical reasoning and coherence
- rebuttal and counter-argument skills
- teamwork and collaboration
- English language proficiency
- creativity and originality.
Useful links:
Public Speaking for Teachers
Classroom Debate
2026 debate topics:
PRIMARY SCHOOL
1) Going to a movie theater is better than streaming movies at home.
2) Talking face-to-face is better than chatting online.
3) AI will replace teachers one day.
SECONDARY SCHOOL
1) Online activism is as effective as traditional activism.
2) Social media age restrictions should be raised.
3) Technological advancement does not always mean improvement.
