Westfield Academy Debate Team Reaches Finals in International Competition

The Westfield Academy debate team, located in West Hartford, CT, is one of the top 8 high school public policy debate teams in the world, and is headed to New York in 5 weeks to compete in the final rounds.

This is Westfield Academy's first year competing in this competition. The finals of the International Public Policy Forum Debate Competition give the "Elite 8" teams the opportunity to participate in oral debates in front of some of the world’s foremost experts in debate, business, law and politics. This is the only contest that gives high school students around the world the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates
on issues of public policy. The announcement of the Elite 8 teams stated:

"This was one of the most competitive years in the history of the competition – and the quality of the essays
was exceptional. We received essays from hundreds of teams representing schools in many countries. We are now down to the top 8! Advancing to this round of the competition is an incredible achievement. These
students are exploring a timely and complex topic – the global refugee crisis – at an intellectual level well beyond their years. They now have an opportunity to compete in oral debates to determine who wins one of
the most coveted titles in debate – IPPF World Champion.”

Westfield team in order as pictured: Ben Small (15 years old from Ellington, CT), Patrick Henderson (15 years old from West Hartford, CT), Ann Walsh Henderson (Founder of Westfield Academy), Ben Mione (16 from West Hartford, CT), Seamus Connor (16 from Woodstock Valley, CT), Aidan Harper (16 from Francestown, NH), Sharon Tang 15 years old from Glastonbury, CT (not pictured).

In the final rounds, Westfield will do an oral debate against the Taipei American School from Taipei, Taiwan. Teams will continue to debate the topic, “Resolved: The obligation to provide safe haven for
refugees should outweigh a government’s right to control its borders.” Westfield is the only team from Connecticut and from New England to advance this far. In fact, only one other school from the entire
Eastern seaboard has.

Westfield is celebrating their 12th year, offering year-round classes and holding a debate and Model United Nations (MUN) summer camp in June. Find more information on our website www.WestfieldAcademy.net or call 860-940-0813 with any questions.