Dubai schools ranked fifth in world debate tournament

Dubai A team of five students from Dubai-based schools have made it to the top five in an international debate tournament, ‘The World Schools Debating Championships 2011', one of the most prestigious school-level debates in the world. Held in Dundee, Scotland, from August 16 to 26, a team of five students represented the UAE and ranked fifth out of 48 schools at the tournament. One of the team members, Raseesa Munshi of Wellington International School, was awarded an internship with the office of the President of the United States, following her success at the debating tournament. Other members of Team UAE included Anirudh Sivaram and Rohan Sampath from Dubai Modern High School, Taahir Munshi from Wellington International School and Aman Gupta from Jumeirah College. The team was managed by Grant Smith, English teacher at Jumeirah College and coached by Lewis Iwu, World University Debating Champion 2008. Exceeding expectations The team exceeded expectations and won seven out of eight of its first round matches, defeating high calibre teams including India, Pakistan, US and defending champions, Canada. Smith said: "We are immensely proud of our students. We are a relatively new and small nation compared to many other participants but our team showed true confidence and made a great impression on all the coaches and debaters at the tournament. This was only our second year at the tournament and the future of debating in the UAE looks bright."