-GEMS Jumeirah College beats 16 other teams to take 2012 championship
-Students from 4 countries compete for Top Debater title

Dubai, UAE- February 12, 2012: Words were the weapon of choice as 32 of the world’s young debaters from four nations were out in force at the prestigious Modern World Debates. The debates, hosted by GEMS Dubai Modern High School, are a premiere international debating competition. This year students from 16 schools across the UAE, the UK, India, and Qatar gathered for this annual event, which tests competitors’ speaking skills, general knowledge and critical thinking abilities.

Dubai’s GEMS Jumeirah College team was victorious, beating out 16 other competitors over 6 rounds of the competition to earn the coveted Modern World Debate trophy. They debated subjects connected to immigration policies as they faced off against GEMS Dubai Modern High School in the finals.

GEMS Jumeirah College team captain and winner of the Best Speaker award, Cyrus Afkhami commented, “I think what really stands out about this tournament is the guidance we’ve all received from the judges throughout the week. They’ve offered so much constructive feedback and I know this will make me a better debater in the long run.  Winning today is just an added bonus.”

Second place team captain Rohan Sampath of Dubai Modern High School commented: “There’s an element of nostalgia for me today. This is my last year at Dubai Modern, and I feel incredibly proud to have participated in such a prestigious event; I’ll be leaving on a high note. Of course it would have been fantastic to win, but we had strong competition throughout the tournament, and I congratulate my competitors.”

Judges including Daniel Berdichevsky, world debater and founder and CEO of the World Scholars Cup, Richard Lau of the Cambridge Union Debating Society and Veronica Vlckova of the IDEA Debates in Amsterdam, sat on the panel of four to bring their expertise to this event.

“We are proud to host this world class event which supports and prepares students to become strong global ambassadors. We salute the achievements of each of the competitors, along with their parents and teachers who have supported them in this journey,” said Darryl Bloud, Principal of Dubai Modern High School.

The schools that took part in the finals of the Dubai Modern Debates 2012 are:

1. Al Khor International School (Qatar)
2. Bishop Challoner  School (UK)
3. Bishop Cotton School, Shimla (India)
4. The Doon School, Dehradun (India)
5. Qatar International School (Qatar)
6. Sherfield School (UK)
7. Bishop's School, Pune (India)
8. The Shri Ram School, Aravalli (India)
9. GEMS Wellington International School (UAE)
10. Dubai International Academy (UAE)
11. GEMS Our Own English High School, Sharjah (UAE)
12. Victoria international School, Sharjah (UAE)
13. GEMS Jumeirah College (UAE)
14. GEMS Our Own English High School, Fujairah (UAE)
15. GEMS Our Own English High School, Al Warqa'a (UAE)
16. GEMS Dubai Modern High School (UAE)