Exceptional Achievements at New Zealand Debating Championships

The New Zealand Schools Debating Championships were held in Wellington from 26 – 27 May and resulted in exceptional performances by three Macleans College students.

Yang Fan Yun (Snell House) and Grace Baylis (Upham) were members of the three person Auckland Blue representative team that won the competition. This is the first time in 13 years that Auckland has won the National Final and represents a significant achievement for schools debating in Auckland. Attending as a Year 12 student, Grace was awarded a Promising Speaker award.

Alan Zhang (Kupe) who was a member of beaten semi–finalists, Auckland White, was named as a member of the five person New Zealand Schools Debating team. Alan and the team will be travelling to Zagreb, Croatia from 17 – 27 July to compete against 50 other countries at the 2018 World Schools Debating Championship.

All three students should be commended on their exceptional achievements at a national level. They represent a significant amount of hard work and dedication that each student has put into debating.