The 2025-2026 Huasheng Cup Chinese-English Debate Tournament officially drew to a close at Harrow Haikou on December 7th. Harrow students from 10 campuses across Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Nanning, Shenzhen, Hengqin, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and beyond gathered, harvesting well-deserved honors and trophies.
As a flagship annual intellectual event meticulously crafted by the AISL Harrow Group, this year’s tournament marked the debut of an English debate track, bringing together 220 debaters from 10 group campuses. Over three intense days, students took language as their bridge and logic as their blade, showcasing exceptional competence through fierce exchanges. This event vividly embodies the AISL Harrow Group’s commitment to fostering Chinese-English critical thinking skills among young people and its dedication to holistic education.
After thrilling competitions between 29 teams in both Chinese and English divisions, champions, runners-up, and third-place winners were crowned across four categories. Harrow Hengqin students have achieved their best results
Team AwardsChinese (Senior) – Second Place
Team Members – Derrick D., Jason C., Sharon W., Sissi Y., Gigi Z., Kevin S.
Chinese (Junior) – Fourth Place
Team Members – Haoran L., Michelle L., Abby D., Chris T., Lydia L., Aileen P., Cherry C.
English (Junior) – Fourth Place
Team Members – Ivy Z., Charlena L., Jackson Z., David S.
Individual Awards:
Best Debater (Overall Round)
Sissi Y.
Outstanding Debater (Overall Round)
Sharon W., Charlena L., Jackson Z., David S.
Best Debater (Single Round)
Sissi Y., Sharon W., Kevin S., Aileen P., Michelle L., Ivy Z., Charlena L., Jackson Z., David S.
Cultivating Critical Thinking, Laying the Foundation for Core Competencies
The AISL Harrow Group has always regarded critical thinking, bilingual communication, and global perspective as core competencies for future talents, and the Huasheng Cup serves as a pivotal platform to practice this educational philosophy.
Genuine debate begins with “Fellowship.” It is not about isolating oneself to win, but about communicating with peers, co-constructing ideas, and recognizing that collective inquiry leads to deeper understanding. Such communication requires “Humility”—approaching discussions with the openness that “I might be wrong,” enabling true listening to opponents’ perspectives and gracefully adjusting one’s stance when evidence demands it. Furthermore, debate is a test of “Honour,” requiring students to argue with integrity, base arguments on facts, focus on ideas rather than personal attacks, and always respect the process and rules. Finally, debate demands “Courage”—the courage to stand before an audience, articulate one’s beliefs clearly, and face opposition unflinchingly. It takes courage to speak up, and equally courage to remain calm, listen intently, and absorb insights when confronted with compelling counterarguments.
Data from the U.S. Ivy League shows that students who participate in debate tournaments see a 30% increase in admission rates to top universities, while award-winning debaters experience a remarkable 66% surge. Harrow consistently uses such events as a vehicle to help students refine independent thinking, effective communication, and value-judgment skills, integrating character development advocated by Harrow’s values into every debate exchange, and laying a solid foundation for future academic pursuits and life journeys.
Connecting Resources Across 10 Campuses, Building a Diverse Exchange Platform
Leveraging the AISL Harrow Group’s robust global educational network, this year’s Huasheng Cup emerged as a key link for inter-campus academic exchange. Students from 10 group campuses overcame geographical barriers to gather, not only showcasing their intellectual acumen and expressive charm through group stages, semi-finals, and finals but also learning from each other and forging profound friendships in competition. From Harrow Bangkok’s debut participation, to six campuses fielding elite teams in the first-ever English debate track, to inviting outstanding debaters from Singapore to compete alongside Harrow students—let us extend our warmest applause to the pioneers and our friends from afar.
From the Chinese division’s erudite citations and rigorous logic to the English division’s cross-cultural expression and ideological clashes, this year’s Huasheng Cup debates closely aligned with the pulse of the times and social concerns, balancing intellectual depth with practical relevance. The topics explored cutting-edge technological issues such as the application boundaries and impacts of artificial intelligence in academic research and campus education, guiding students to reflect on the humanistic values and ethical trade-offs behind technological innovation. They also delved into social hot topics including the operational logic of the medical and pharmaceutical industry and the controversy over the existence of commercial zoos, touching on core themes such as industry ethics, social justice, and humanistic care.
These thoughtfully designed topics transcended simplistic cognitive frameworks, resonating with adolescents’ cognitive horizons and exploratory interests while pushing them to break through mental boundaries. By examining complex issues from multiple perspectives—technological trends, humanistic feelings, and social development—students deepened their understanding of the world through ideological collisions. This fully demonstrates the core value of debates in “seeking truth through argumentation and nurturing people through thinking,” and practices the AISL Harrow Group’s holistic education philosophy of fostering critical thinking and global perspective.
Celebrating Achievements, Continuing the Journey of Critical Thinking
A standout highlight of this year’s tournament was the exhibition match between the Harrow All-Star Chinese Team and Harrow All-Star English Team. All-star debaters from various campuses formed ad-hoc teams on the final day, leveraging shared Harrow values and on-the-spot teamwork to deliver a highly engaging feast of language and ideas for online and offline audiences.
Their agile ideological exchanges, fluent bilingual expression, and profound perspective clashes made this unrestrained impromptu showdown one of the most memorable highlights of the 3rd Huasheng Cup, shining a spotlight on the Harrow spirit of “Fellowship, Humility, Honour, and Courage” through intellectual collision.
This annual event, integrating bilingual expression, in-depth critical thinking, and inter-campus exchange, not only provided Harrow students with a platform to showcase themselves but also highlighted the AISL Harrow Group’s educational strength and founding mission. In the future, Harrow will continue to use rich academic events as carriers to deepen critical thinking education, build diverse exchange platforms, and enable more students to grow into future leaders with international vision and core competitiveness under the nurturing of holistic education.
