Team Northern Ireland Reach Quarter-finals at WSDC 2025

Team Northern Ireland, representing the Northern Ireland Schools Speech & Debate Association (NISSDA), finished as quarter-finalists at the 2025 World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) in Panama.

The 2025 team comprised Charlotte Thomas from James Allen's Girls' School, who captained the side; Lizzie Bauer from Methodist College Belfast; Thomas Cooney from Saint Patrick Grammar School; and Tejas Pugalia from Lecale Trinity Grammar School.

The team performed strongly throughout the preliminary rounds to qualify for the knockout stages, before bowing out in the quarter-finals against one of the tournament's top seeds.

The campaign built on the experience of previous years and laid the groundwork for the historic runners-up finish that would follow in 2026. NISSDA congratulates the team on another excellent showing for Northern Ireland.

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