North West College recently reached an exciting milestone, entering a team in a formal debating competition for the first time. Year 9 and 10 students Jamie Harnett, McKenzie Andersen, and Hudson Bailey represented the College at the 2026 Auckland Schools Debating Junior Championships.
The event was hosted at Marcellin College and brought together 37 teams from across Auckland for a full day of debating, running from 8:40am until 5:30pm. Each team competed in three limited-preparation debates on a wide range of challenging topics.
The Opening Round
In the opening round, North West was assigned the affirmative side of the motion, “This House would ban students from skipping year levels at school.” The team faced St Cuthbert’s 5, who went on to place seventh overall in the competition.
An Unexpected Opponent
The second round produced an experience that few junior debaters ever have. After another team withdrew from the competition, North West unexpectedly found themselves debating against an accomplished university debater who had originally been attending as an adjudicator. The motion was “This House believes that video games should not be allowed to charge players real money after the initial purchase,” with North West arguing the negative side.
Despite facing an opponent with years more debating experience, Jamie, McKenzie, and Hudson rose to the challenge with remarkable confidence. Rather than playing it safe, they delivered passionate speeches, directly challenged their opponent’s arguments through fearless rebuttal, and continued searching for opportunities to win until the final speech. While the result went against them, it was an exceptional learning opportunity and a performance that all three students should be incredibly proud of.
The debate was recorded and adjudicated by North West coach Mr Connor McFadyen, assisted by the Symbai debate-analysis platform. This means the students will be able to revisit the debate in class, analyse both teams’ performances, and learn from one of the most challenging rounds they are ever likely to experience at the junior level.
The Final Round
The final motion asked teams to imagine a world in which a potion allowed people to read the minds of others: “This House would take the potion.” North West argued the negative side against Saint Kentigern 2 and narrowly lost a closely contested debate.
Although the team finished the day with one default win and two losses, the results tell only a small part of the story. As North West College’s first-ever team to compete in a formal debating tournament, Jamie, McKenzie, and Hudson represented the College with outstanding courage. Their willingness to stand up to experienced opposition and genuinely compete with confidence and conviction demonstrated the resilience, curiosity, and growth mindset that debating is designed to develop. They have laid a strong foundation for the future of debating at North West College.
The team was supported throughout the day by North West debate coaches Mr Connor McFadyen and Mrs Alex Wanliss.
Congratulations to Jamie, McKenzie, and Hudson on an outstanding first championship and for proudly representing North West College.
