Wellington Scholars Earn Places at World Scholar’s Cup Tournament of Champions

23 September 2026

Wellington College Bangkok students have enjoyed an impressive showing at the 2026 World Scholar’s Cup Bangkok Global Round, with four teams earning invitations to progress to the Tournament of Champions at Yale University in November.

Held in Bangkok from 28 August to 2 September, the Global Round brought together qualifying scholars for six days of academic competition, collaboration, and cultural exchange. Global Rounds form an important stage of the World Scholar’s Cup programme, with successful teams able to qualify for the annual Tournament of Champions at Yale.

Much more than an academic competition

The World Scholar’s Cup has a deliberately broad format. Students compete in Team Debate, Collaborative Writing, the Scholar’s Challenge, and Scholar’s Bowl, testing not just what they know, but how they use that knowledge.  In Team Debate, students have limited preparation time before presenting and defending arguments, while Collaborative Writing requires team discussion followed by individual written responses. Scholar’s Bowl places teams under time pressure to solve analytical and multimedia questions together, while the Scholar’s Challenge draws upon knowledge across six subject areas.

For students, this combination develops skills which extend well beyond the competition itself. They need to communicate clearly, listen to one another, respond to unfamiliar ideas, make decisions under pressure, and have the confidence to defend a point of view. The Global Rounds also include activities which bring together students from different countries and cultures, making international collaboration an important part of the experience.

Excellent performances from Wellington students

Wellington's scholars achieved a considerable number of individual and team awards during the Bangkok Global Round.  In the Junior Division, Lincoln S, JJ T, and Doln S produced particularly strong team performances, achieving 28th place Gold in Team Debate and 42nd place Gold in Team Writing. Lincoln S also secured 50th place Gold in Individual Debate, alongside Gold awards in the Scholar’s Bowl and Individual Writing. 

Another Junior team also performed strongly in debate. Anish P, Hada A, and their team achieved 43rd place Gold in Team Debate, while Hada A earned 53rd place Gold in Individual Writing.  There was further success for Tannjai S, Jayden L, and Keeree S, whose team achieved 54th place Gold in the Scholar’s Bowl, with Tannjai S and Jayden L also receiving individual Gold awards.  Wellington's Senior Division scholars Namarie T, Ben E, and Pete U recorded one of the delegation's highest team placings, finishing 11th in the Scholar’s Bowl. Namarie T also received an individual Gold Scholar’s Bowl award.

Next stop: Yale!

Most significantly, Wellington has received confirmation that four teams have qualified for the next stage of the competition.  Lincoln S, JJ T, Doln S, Tannjai S, Jayden L, Keeree S, Anish P, Hada A, Bill S, Namarie T, Ben E, and Pete U have all been named in the official invitation to the 2026 World Scholar’s Cup Tournament of Champions at Yale University.  

The Tournament of Champions will take place from 12-18 November 2026 and is hosted at Yale by the Yale International Relations Association. Alongside the World Scholar’s Cup events, participants have opportunities to interact with Yale students and faculty, attend sessions about university life, and meet scholars from more than 50 countries.   It is a fitting next step for our scholars after their performances in Bangkok, and another opportunity to test themselves, work with others, and represent Wellington on an international stage.

Congratulations to every student who took part in the Bangkok Global Round. We look forward to following the next stage of the journey at Yale in November.