Galaxy International School finishes second in 2024 Pan-African Schools Debate

Galaxy International School, Ghana's sole representative at the 2024 Pan African Schools Debate competition, returned home with the honor of placing second among sixty schools from other African countries.

Galaxy International School, which competed in the highly regarded contest in South Africa with three students, also picked up the 'Best Speakers' award for distinguishing themselves in the public speaking category.

Speaking to the press upon arrival at Kotoka International Airport on Sunday, July 7, 2024, Emmanuel Boakye-Yiadom, the instructor for Speech and Debate at Galaxy International School, noted that the success of the students reflects the school's dedication to developing their students holistically.

According to him, Galaxy International School is devoted to its students both in and outside the classroom, and the school has put in place the necessary measures to ensure that their students are exposed to international competitions that expand their knowledge and experience.

He revealed that Ghana, through Galaxy International School, came second to South Africa in the Development stage of the competition in the debate category, which is an outstanding performance for a school making its debut appearance.

On lessons from the competition, Boakye-Yiadom noted that the students underwent training in debating and public speaking, which he believes will go a long way to hone their skills.

He also appealed to the government of Ghana and corporate institutions to take a keen interest in supporting debate and public speaking groups, as it is an avenue for generating international academic recognition for the country.

"At Galaxy, we truly nurture talents, and it is a part of our policy. So, apart from education, we ensure that our students engage in extracurricular activities to develop their talents as we build on them," he said.

Mr. Hakan Tokdemir, the Vice Principal of Galaxy International School, commended the students for the outstanding academic prowess shown in the competition.

He explained that the recent success of Galaxy International School in international competitions is due to the policy direction being pursued by the school.

"At Galaxy, we encourage students to come out and explore their talents and skills. We also encourage them to be more creative and confident.

"We feel very proud, knowing that the flag of Ghana is rising higher through the hands of our students. Whenever there is an opportunity, we try to give them the necessary support and equipment to enable them to participate in such contests," he noted.

Husinah Bint Saeed, a Year 11 student at Galaxy International School who took part in the contest, said, "The questions were quite tricky. They gave us the question on the day of the debate, and we had only one hour to prepare. There were some ups and downs, but overall, we made it to the finals, and afterward, we were able to win second place.

"Some of the questions were about monetization, the operations and culture of other countries, and whether people should post on social media to earn money. You just don't know what question is coming; they could throw any question at you and give you an hour to prepare. When you are preparing, you are not allowed to use the Internet. It is just you and your brain."

Muhsinah Bint Saeed, another Year 11 contestant, said, "Honestly, it was challenging, and it forced us to come out of our comfort zone to do what we thought we couldn't do, and God being so good, we came out as second."

Kauthara Ndeiya Ramadan, a Year 10 contestant, said, "It was a very nice competition; we met new people and made friends, and it helped us to improve our debating skills."