The Westwood High School debate team has advanced to the Elite 8 of the 2025–26 International Public Policy Forum, hosted by the Brewer Foundation, and is set to travel to New York to compete against seven other student groups from across the world.
Speech and Debate instructor Dominic Henderson said he was proud of his students’ progress this year.
“We are so very proud and honored to be headed back to NYC for the IPPF Elite 8,” Henderson said. “This is the third year in a row that a team from Westwood has made it to the Elite 8 out of hundreds of competitors from tens of countries around the world, and we are looking forward to bringing back another global champion. Sko Wood!”
The debate contest began in 2001 and grew over the years into the National Public Policy Forum, where high school students across the country could compete. Gaining recognition and rapid growth, the NPPF became an international debate competition in 2009, widening the pool of debate students from across the globe.
“The IPPF is the only high school debate competition that gives students from around the world the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on public policy issues,” said William A. Brewer III, chairman of the Brewer Foundation.
The process is rigorous, starting with qualifying essays in which judges select the top 64 teams worldwide to advance into a single-elimination written debate tournament. Judges then narrow the teams down to 32, then to 16 and finally to the “Elite 8,” who are then selected to compete in the oral debate competition at the IPPF Finals.
This year, the competition had a record-breaking number of submissions where 332 teams from 39 countries submitted qualifying round essays affirming or negating the following topic: Resolved: The Group of 20 Nations should levy a global education tax equal to 1% of each member country's gross domestic product to establish a dedicated international organization that supports the provision of universal, free, quality primary and secondary education.
The Westwood High School debate team attending the Elite 8 will be competing on April 17–18.