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The race for debating supremacy is officially underway, and early signs point to a fiercely competitive season, as seven secondary schools battled their way into Round Two of the 2026 Inter-Secondary Schools Debating Competition following an intense knockout round.
The competition got underway on Thursday, January 22, introducing a non-traditional format. Rather than team debates, each school was represented by a single student, with advancement based solely on individual scores.
The opening day of debates saw six schools engaging in the motion, “Local communities should have veto power over projects that significantly affect their environment.”
Those schools were Orion Academy, Isaiah Thomas Secondary School, Wesley High School, St. Mary’s Academy, Convent High School, and Arthur Waldron Seventh-Day Adventist Academy.
The knockout round continued on Friday, January 23, when Castle Bruce Secondary School, St. Martin Secondary School, and Portsmouth Secondary School debated the motion, “The legal driving age in Dominica should be lowered to increase youth independence and national productivity.”
At the end of the knockout phase, seven students emerged with the highest scores, earning progression for their schools. St. Martin Secondary School led the field through Shanaiyah John, who recorded the highest score of 341 points. Wesley High School followed with Hephzibah Abenole scoring 328 points, while Orion Academy advanced behind the performance of Taya Charles with 320 points.
Convent High School secured its place through Sienna Andrew, who scored 317 points. Portsmouth Secondary School moved forward with Maliah Ettienne earning 302 points, while Castle Bruce Secondary School advanced after Isaac Roberts scored 299 points. Isaiah Thomas Secondary School completed the list of qualifiers with Kianna Aaron scoring 288 points.
Just below the cutoff were two schools that narrowly missed advancing. St. Mary’s Academy, represented by Lucas Sorhaindo, finished with 286 points, while Arthur Waldron Seventh-Day Adventist Academy’s Khaleed Colaire recorded a score of 263 points.
The seven schools will now move on to Round Two of the competition, scheduled for February 25 and 26, where they will be joined by reigning champion Dominica Grammar School.
Organizer Trudy Christian said the round proved to be both intense and revealing, highlighting the depth of talent among this year’s participants. She noted that the close results and strong performances show that 2026 is shaping up to be an exceptional year for the competition.
Christian also expressed appreciation to the sponsors of the competition, singling out main sponsor Josephine Gabriel & Co. Ltd. for its continued support and commitment to youth development and meaningful national dialogue.
The race for debating supremacy is officially underway, and early signs point to a fiercely competitive season, as seven secondary schools battled their way into Round Two of the 2026 Inter-Secondary Schools Debating Competition following an intense knockout round.
The competition got underway on Thursday, January 22, introducing a non-traditional format. Rather than team debates, each school was represented by a single student, with advancement based solely on individual scores.
The opening day of debates saw six schools engaging in the motion, “Local communities should have veto power over projects that significantly affect their environment.”
Those schools were Orion Academy, Isaiah Thomas Secondary School, Wesley High School, St. Mary’s Academy, Convent High School, and Arthur Waldron Seventh-Day Adventist Academy.
The knockout round continued on Friday, January 23, when Castle Bruce Secondary School, St. Martin Secondary School, and Portsmouth Secondary School debated the motion, “The legal driving age in Dominica should be lowered to increase youth independence and national productivity.”
At the end of the knockout phase, seven students emerged with the highest scores, earning progression for their schools. St. Martin Secondary School led the field through Shanaiyah John, who recorded the highest score of 341 points. Wesley High School followed with Hephzibah Abenole scoring 328 points, while Orion Academy advanced behind the performance of Taya Charles with 320 points.
Convent High School secured its place through Sienna Andrew, who scored 317 points. Portsmouth Secondary School moved forward with Maliah Ettienne earning 302 points, while Castle Bruce Secondary School advanced after Isaac Roberts scored 299 points. Isaiah Thomas Secondary School completed the list of qualifiers with Kianna Aaron scoring 288 points.
Just below the cutoff were two schools that narrowly missed advancing. St. Mary’s Academy, represented by Lucas Sorhaindo, finished with 286 points, while Arthur Waldron Seventh-Day Adventist Academy’s Khaleed Colaire recorded a score of 263 points.
The seven schools will now move on to Round Two of the competition, scheduled for February 25 and 26, where they will be joined by reigning champion Dominica Grammar School.
Organizer Trudy Christian said the round proved to be both intense and revealing, highlighting the depth of talent among this year’s participants. She noted that the close results and strong performances show that 2026 is shaping up to be an exceptional year for the competition.
Christian also expressed appreciation to the sponsors of the competition, singling out main sponsor Josephine Gabriel & Co. Ltd. for its continued support and commitment to youth development and meaningful national dialogue.
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The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
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