600 children from 25 Dubai schools to take part in academic tournament

The World Scholar’s Cup will be the largest academic tournament ever held in Dubai and will test pupils' mettle on a variety of topics.

DUBAI // Hundreds of schoolchildren will take part in a nationwide competition that aims to hone their debating, teamwork and problem-solving skills.

The World Scholar’s Cup will be the largest academic tournament to be held in Dubai, as almost 600 pupils from 25 schools take part on Friday and Saturday.

The two-day event will test their mettle on a variety of topics and skills, with the winners going on to the global round to be held in Singapore next month.

“The thinking behind the event is to help pupils improve on a variety of skills that perhaps they don’t always get the chance to at school,” said Daniel Berdichevsky, the founder of the World Scholar’s Cup.

“The key thing for us is to make it fun and whimsical. That way the children learn something, but it’s done in an interesting manner.”

It is the fourth year that the event has been held in Dubai and follows similar contests in the US and Singapore.

Over the weekend the pupils will have to show their abilities in the scholar’s bowl segment, where teams must answer questions posed by a quizmaster on stage using a high-tech clicker, display their debating skills, collaborative writing skills and deal with a multiple-choice quiz.

“The debate topics range from serious motions, like the appropriate levels of remote video surveillance, to the more fun – whether the world needs more ninjas,” said Mr Berdichevsky.

The tournament was primarily intended for secondary school pupils aged 11 to 18, but the Dubai event will feature the debut of the programme’s first primary school division, for those aged 8 to 10.

“Younger students often lack access to these sorts of enrichment opportunities,” said Grant Smith, a special projects manager at Gems Education. “Even though they’re the ones who can benefit the most from them.”

Day one of the event will be hosted by Gems Wellington Academy at Silicon Oasis before it moves to the American University in Dubai Media City for the second day.

The top 10 teams in each division will qualify for the programme’s 2014 global round, intended to bring together more than 1,800 pupils from 40 countries in Singapore from June 24 to 27.

The most successful teams will then go to the annual Tournament of Champions at Yale University, in the US.

World Scholar’s Cup is based in America, and focuses on providing children from all backgrounds with the opportunity to develop their skills.

For more information, visit www.scholarscup.org, or email [e-mail].