31 August 2026

As the National Debating League season draws to a close, we would like to congratulate and thank everyone who contributed to another outstanding season of debating. This year, the National Debating League brought together 826 speakers and 145 teams, with an impressive 1 996 speeches delivered across six rounds. Against such strong competition, our debaters represented Bishops with distinction throughout the season. Our Junior team progressed all the way to the semi-finals, where they unfortunately lost in an exceptionally close and hard-fought debate. Reaching the semi-finals is a remarkable achievement and a testament to the dedication, preparation and resilience of our junior debaters. Our speakers also achieved excellent individual results. In the Senior Division, Hamaad Badroodien was awarded 5th place for Best Speaker, while Cruz Sun finished in 9th place. In the Junior Division, Joshua Fried placed 24th and Isaac Frankel placed 25th, both earning positions among the top 50 junior speakers in the league. While these are the speakers who received individual awards, we would like to emphasise that every speaker who participated this season deserves our thanks and recognition. Each debate round requires preparation, commitment and courage, and we are incredibly proud of everyone who stepped up to represent Bishops. A special thank you must also go to our exceptional debating coaches, Menzimuhle Ncube and Providence Nhongo, whose guidance, expertise and commitment have been instrumental in the team's success. Finally, we would like to thank Mr Sebastian Stemmet and all the drivers who sacrificed their Monday evenings to ensure that our debaters could travel safely to and from the various venues throughout the season. Your support behind the scenes made a significant difference. Congratulations to all our debaters on an excellent season. Your hard work, determination and willingness to engage with challenging ideas have made us very proud. We look forward to seeing what the next season brings!