At the 2026 World Scholar’s Cup Global Round, our four YCIS Qingdao teams have earned 30 medals in total, with three teams advancing to the Tournament of Champions at Yale University!

Preparation had begun well before departure. In the opening week of training, Mr Whitehead developed a series of AI agents to help students practise the different World Scholar’s Cup events. One of our students went a step further and created their own app to support their preparation. By the time the group assembled for Shanghai, there was a real sense of excitement about putting that preparation into practice.

The World Scholar’s Cup challenges students across four very different events: Team Debate, Collaborative Writing, the Scholar’s Challenge and the Scholar’s Bowl. Success therefore demands far more than simply knowing information. Students must communicate clearly, construct arguments, write persuasively, think critically, work under pressure and, perhaps most importantly, collaborate effectively.

Our students rose to that challenge exceptionally well. Across the four teams, YCIS Qingdao students earned 30 medals — 14 gold and 16 silver — and three teams qualified for the Tournament of Champions at Yale University. 

There were strong results across Debate, Writing, the Scholar’s Challenge and Scholar’s Bowl, including 17th place in the Junior Team Bowl, 36th place in the Senior Team Bowl and a 36th-place individual result in the History Challenge. Our senior team also achieved gold-medal results in both Team Bowl and Team Debate despite including two Junior Division students. Our senior team was actually made up of one senior and two junior Year 7 students.

The results, however, tell only part of the story. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the trip was the maturity with which the students represented the school. Travelling away from home gives young people an opportunity to take greater responsibility for themselves. With appropriate guidance, students need to manage their time, organise themselves, make decisions, solve small problems and learn to operate with a degree of independence. It was remarkable to see how naturally our students stepped up.

The results, however, tell only part of the story. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the trip was the maturity with which the students represented the school. Travelling away from home gives young people an opportunity to take greater responsibility for themselves. With appropriate guidance, students need to manage their time, organise themselves, make decisions, solve small problems and learn to operate with a degree of independence. It was remarkable to see how naturally our students stepped up.

The final lesson came from something completely outside the competition. A developing typhoon meant the delegation needed to leave Shanghai earlier than planned and, unfortunately, before the medal presentations. Close monitoring of both the evolving weather conditions and the immediate competition schedule allowed the potential disruption to be spotted early and addressed. The school responded rapidly, travel arrangements were adjusted, and unnecessary risk to students was avoided.

The students were kept aware of developments as they unfolded, so even the disappointment of leaving early became a learning opportunity. The students saw first-hand the importance of situational awareness: concentrating on the task in front of you while remaining conscious of what is happening around you. They also responded to the sudden change of plans with the same maturity and poise they had shown throughout the trip.

Experiences such as the World Scholar’s Cup prepare students extremely well for IGCSE, A-Levels, and the IB Diploma Programme, and for life beyond school. They require students to think on their feet, work with unfamiliar information, communicate with confidence, collaborate with different people and build relationships beyond their normal circles.

With three teams now qualified for the Tournament of Champions at Yale, and the World Scholar’s Cup beginning to become more closely embedded within Humanities at YCIS Qingdao, this Shanghai Global Round was an excellent beginning. Most importantly, our students represented their school with intelligence, independence, good humour and maturity — and gave the whole school community plenty of reasons to be proud of them.