Congrats! Hungarian high school students won the most prestigious debate competition in Oxford
Change language:
Julianna Balázs and Lili Törőcsik from Budapest have won one of the most prestigious international debate competition in Oxford. The Hungarian talents defeated representatives of 300 high schools worldwide, including famous debate teams of British high schools.
Oxford Schools debate competitions are usually attended by 14-18-year-old students, representing more than 300 high schools worldwide. The competition follows the rules of the British parliamentary debate style, which determines not only the length of speeches and the number of debaters, but also sets who and when can ask questions to parties arguing for or against a given statement. The judges make the final decision at the end of the debate.
As Eduline reports, the final is traditionally held in the Oxford Union’s debate room, founded in 1823 by one of the world’s oldest debate companies. The legendary events were attended by famous politicians, artists, and athletes, including several American presidents, such as Richard Nixon or Bill Clinton, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, the Dalai Lama, and Mother Teresa.
This year, due to the pandemic, the global debate competition was held online. However, this did not affect the success of the Hungarian team. The renowned Harrow School – famous for having participated in various British and international debate competitions – was one of the British schools whose team was defeated by two Hungarian high school students in March.
Julianna Balázs and Lili Törőcsik from Budapest have won the international final of the 2021 Oxford Schools, one of the most famous debate competitions in the world.
I think I can speak for all Hungarians.
We are bursting with pride at the younger generation’s success.
Heartiest congratulations to both young ladies.