Tauranga Boys’ College has won the Cooney Lees Morgan Bay of Plenty Regional Schools’ Debating Championships for the second year in a row – their fourth time winning the tournament. The event was hosted at Tauranga Boys’ College on Saturday 14 March.

The Tauranga Boys’ College team of Oliver Larsen, Tasman Struthers, and Zack Norwood beat the Tauranga Girls’ College team of Pearl Vahey Bourne, Aku Gautam, and Estelle Glass-Cooney in the Grand Final, negating the motion ‘This House would replace all elected local councils with appointed officials by the central government’. Tauranga Boys’ College was awarded the Josh Baxter Cup.

The 2026 Bay of Plenty Regional Schools’ Debating Championships, held annually and sponsored by Cooney Lees Morgan, involved a record-breaking 46 teams and over 150 students from around the region. The Bay of Plenty has quickly become one of the largest hubs for debating in New Zealand since the New Zealand Schools’ Debating Council expanded to the region in 2018.

“We are incredibly grateful for Cooney Lees Morgan’s continued support of debating in the Bay of Plenty, which has enabled us to extend this opportunity to so many talented students,” says Bay of Plenty Regional Convenor Ella Mitchell. “It’s wonderful to see so many students engaging with debating, sharpening their critical thinking and public speaking skills, and having a great time while doing it.”

Students debated in three preliminary rounds, on topics ranging from the sale of state-owned assets to the impact of televising youth sports.

Students had half an hour to prepare their speeches after finding out what side of the topic they were arguing.

Year 12 Tauranga Girls’ College Student Pearl Vahey Bourne was named Best Speaker of the tournament. “Being named Best Speaker was unexpected, especially with over 150 talented students,” reflects Vahey Bourne. “Debating is important to me because it pushes me to think critically and see issues from different perspectives. It has given me so much confidence in public speaking and expressing my ideas.”

A squad of three debaters was chosen to compete at the National Finals of the New Zealand Schools' Debating Championships, which will be held in Wellington in May. The Cooney Lees Morgan Bay of Plenty Schools’ Debating Team will be represented by: Oliver Larsen (Tauranga Boys’ College), Pearl Vahey Bourne (Tauranga Girls’ College), and Layla Clarke (Pāpāmoa College).

Year 13 Tauranga Boys’ College student Oliver Larsen has represented the Bay of Plenty at the National Championships for four years and has been named the Most Promising Speaker in Aotearoa the past two years. “Being a member of the Bay of Plenty Team over the past four years has been amazing and it’s a privilege to represent the region at such a competitive level. The past two years have been really successful both individually and as a team. I’m hoping this year we can keep the momentum going,” says Larsen.

The New Zealand Schools’ Debating Championships have been held annually since 1988 and are recognised as the country’s most prestigious schools’ debating competition. The Championships are convened by the New Zealand Schools’ Debating Council, a charity that works to promote debating in secondary schools around the country.

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