Premier's Debating Challenge for Years 5 and 6
Open to NSW public school students, this age division culminates in a 3-day championship camp that includes workshops with some of the state's most experienced adjudicators.
Latest news
The zone round-robins are complete and finals are underway in the 2025 Premier's Debating Challenge for Years 5 and 6. Of the 1,100 or so teams who started the year just 245 have made it through to the finals, and soon that number will be down to just 10 as the regional champions are decided. You can still check out where everyone finished up and the all the results as they come in here, and we'll announce the regional finals as they're decided below.
| Region | Final |
|---|---|
| Hunter/Central Coast | Valley View Deadly Debaters def. Jewells Talking Titans |
| Illawarra and South East | Wollongong Wizards def. Callala Stingrays |
| New England | Ben Venue Blue def. Armidale City Honour |
| North Coast | Macksville Ngangarr-biin def. Bangalow Gold |
| Northern Sydney | Boronia Park Year 6 def. Manly West Blue Team |
| Riverina | Hanwood Public def. Culcairn Public |
| South Western Sydney | Strathfield North Strategic Speakers def. Tahmoor Wattle |
| Sydney | Lilli Pilli Thistles def. Hurstville Blue |
| Western NSW | Wentworth Kookaburras def. Dubbo Rhinos |
| Western Sydney | Westmead Wonders def. Kurrajong Kookaburras |
Once we have our 10 regional champions, they'll head to a 3-day camp to decide the 2025 state champion. If you're still in the hunt you might want to download and check out all the information about how that last stage of the competition works: 2025 Years 5 and 6 State Debating Championships Information (PDF 1.14 MB)
If you're interested in competing next year, you can read a little more about the general comp below, or you can download the 2025 Premier's Debating Challenge for Years 5 and 6 Information Guide (PDF 4.18 MB) for a really detailed look at how the challenge works (all teams and teachers involved need to be familiar with the rules in the guide). Best of luck to the finalists!
Primary debating workshops
The 2025 primary debating workshops program has wrapped up with just over 4,000 students attending a full day of workshops at one of 48 different venues around NSW. The workshops will be back again next year, and below is a look at where they were held in 2025 (we'll aim for similar venues next year!) Thanks to all the kids who came along and concentrated on such advanced material for a whole day, to all the parents who drove them so far to get invovled, and all the host schools and teachers there without whom we couldn't begin to run something this massive!
Metropolitan Sydney |
Rose Bay Public School | Budgewoi Public School | Lindsay Park Public School | Woolgoolga Public School |
| Bardia Public School | Roseville Public School | Erina Heights Public School |
New England |
Riverina |
| Bonnet Bay Public School | Strathfield North Public School | Hamilton North Public School | Armidale City Public School | Albury Public School |
| Camdenville Public School | Terrey Hills Public School | The Junction Public School | Inverell Public School | Deniliquin North Public School |
| Greenway Park Public School | Toongabbie Public School | Rutherford Public School | Oxley Vale Public School | Griffith North Public School |
| Kent Road Public School | Warrimoo Public School | Singleton Public School | Tamworth Public School | Junee North Public School |
| Lewisham Public School | West Pennant Hills Public School |
Illawarra and South East |
North Coast |
Sturt Public School |
| Manly Village Public School | William Dean Public School | Balarang Public School | Alstonville Public School |
Western NSW |
| Penrith Public School |
Hunter/Central Coast |
Batemans Bay Public School | Kingscliff Public School | Forbes Public School |
| Ramsgate Public School | Belair Public School | Bowral Public School | Laurieton Public School | Orana Heights Public School |
| Robert Townson Public School | Berkeley Vale Public School | Jerrabomberra Public School | Macksville Public School | Orange Public School |
About the competition
The Years 5 and 6 competition is the largest of the age divisions in the Premier's Debating Challenge. It began in 1995 when the Hunter region issued a challenge to the other regions of NSW to send their best primary school team to a championships in Newcastle, which is why to this day the state champion is awarded the Hunter Challenge Trophy.
Format of the competition
Teams compete in a series of one-hour unassisted preparation debates, meaning that the 4 team members of the team only find out the topic one hour before the debate, and are then given an hour without any assistance to prepare their case. Teams will be organised into zones of six or more. Each team will complete 4 debates against other teams from their zone at times and dates that suit the schools involved. Zone debates will occur from the start of Term 2 until mid-Term 3.
Once those 4 rounds are completed the team(s) with the best record will be declared zone champions and will compete in a regional knockout finals series. Following that, the 10 regional champions will attend a 3-day championships tournament at Stanwell Tops to determine the state champion. The championships will run in mid-November.
Watch the state finals
Watch the Primary Schools State Debating Championships finals
Gallery
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The 2025 Premier's Debating Challenge Years 5 and 6 is proudly supported by Prize Partner, ACCO Brands Australia.
All Arts Unit programs are inclusive. If support is required to participate in the Premier's Debating Challenge for Years 5 and 6, please email [email protected] so that we can assist.
