Top High School Teams Advance to “Round of 64” in 25th Anniversary of Brewer Foundation’s International DebateCompetition
November 18, 2025 – The Brewer Foundation and New York University announce the high school debate teams advancing to the Top 64 round of the 25th annual International Public Policy Forum (IPPF). By advancing, the teams remain eligible to win an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City and a $10,000 grand prize.
This year’s Top 64 teams emerged from the largest and most internationally diverse qualifying round in IPPF history, with 332 teams from 30 U.S. states and 39 countries including Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, China, and Japan, among others. These teams now enter written single elimination rounds, where they will exchange arguments via email in a process that will test their research and written advocacy skills.
This year, IPPF teams are debating one of the world’s most urgent challenges: the global education crisis. The topic is, “Resolved: The Group of 20 Nations should levy a global education tax equal to 1% of each member country's gross domestic product to establish a dedicated international organization that supports the provision of universal, free, quality primary and secondary education.”
“The 25th anniversary of the IPPF is not just a milestone for the program, it is a celebration of the students who make it extraordinary,” said William A. Brewer III, chairman of the Brewer Foundation and the IPPF Advisory Board. “These teams represent a generation eager to engage in public discourse and committed to addressing the issues facing the world they will inherit." Brewer added, “The enthusiasm these students bring to the competition reflect a desire to make a difference."
Through successive written elimination rounds, the IPPF field will narrow from 64 teams to the final 8, who will be invited to debate in New York City.
The IPPF Finals will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at the NYU School of Law, where the “Elite 8” teams will compete in oral debates before a panel of judges that includes professionals from law, business, academia, and public policy. The IPPF World Champion will receive the $10,000 grand prize and the Brewer Cup.
The “Round of 64” Teams:
Academy of Classical Christian Studies, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Students: Kaiser Braly, Gunnar Larson, Elliot Stutes
Alpha Co, La Crescenta, California
Students: Michael Kim, Sean Lue, Katie Moon
American School Dhahran, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Students: Jayden Lee, Jiseong Chung, Raahim Lone
BASIS International School Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
Students: Ching “Emma” Lin, Qianchen “Eric” Sun, Alice Wu, Zirui “Edric” Wang
Bergen Debate Club, Fort Lee, New Jersey
Students: Jeeya Ballaney, Suvid Bordia, Sophie Hao, Taran Wadhera
British International School Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Students: Neil Antony Benny, Daniel Edward Pitts, Tanush Yogesh More
Brookfield East High School, Brookfield, Wisconsin
Students: Lily Sun, Elise Miller, Srinidhi Chitluri
Carroll Senior High School, Southlake, Texas
Students: Tanvi Golla, Arnav Kakarala, Amber Lin, Aditi Nagunoori, Natalie Wang
Çevre High School, Istanbul, Turkey
Students: Duru Yonar, Dima Köksal, Ayşe Karadeniz, Zerya Lorin Gürkan
College Preparatory School of America, Lombard, Illinois
Students: Aamina Golewale, Huda Ali, Nabeeha Ahmed, Nabiha Mohammed, Tayyaba Tajammul
Cypress Ranch High School, Cypress, Texas
Students: Shahad Attar, Nikhil Gokhale, Tarannum Taha, Nicholas Xydas, Ishana Vutukuru, Ahir Valluri, Simran Verma, Jennifer Dinh
Damien Memorial School, Honolulu, Hawaii
Students: Ciana Aquino, Nataniel Balantac, Jethro Bumanglag, Kacie Cabiles, Sophia Capili, Nalani Dela Cruz, Michelle Lee, Riley Malasig, Abigail Pasion, Theresa Pasion, Mikayla Saito, Hideo Tsukiyama
Debate Education Forum, Mayfair, London, United Kingdom
Students: Kazi Zuairia Binte Habib, Claudia Harper, Arjun Jaya, Kyle Hu
Delbarton School, Morristown, New Jersey
Students: Andrew Kapp, Ryan Amin, Holden Leidl, John Dufner, Sebastian Thomas
The Episcopal School of Dallas, Dallas, Texas
Students: Alexa Avramis, Cooper Ayers, Krisha Bhatnagar, Annabel Brown, Zachary Fish, Alexandra Lackey, Kate Lewis, Gabriela Loewen-Eells
Flower Mound High School, Flower Mound, Texas
Students: Krish Kulkarni, Pravith Munipalle, Surya Dasari
German European School Singapore, Singapore
Students: Lucas Gargiulo, Kiran Wiederhofer, Camille Bouchez
Grand Oaks High School, Spring, Texas
Students: Gabriella Buhl, Peyton-Quinn Love, MaKaila Ott, Evelynn Phillips, Parker Russo, Annika Thomas
Greenwich High School, Greenwich, CT
Students: Raghav Ramji, Arnav Bhatia, Alex Jackson, Neev Nedungadi
Hamilton High School, Chandler, Arizona
Students: Katheryn (Katie) Chan, Sophia Zhao, Aayush Kalmadi, Tony Liu
The Hockaday School, Dallas, Texas
Students: Anusha Chowdhary, Kaitlyn Ouyang, Lillian Vollbrecht, Vivian Zhou
Ivy Bridge Academy, Johns Creek, Georgia (Team 1)
Students: Vivian Chen, Jiin Choi, Samuel Choi, Ayanna Das, Abigail Kim, Ananya Kommuri, Leo Leger, Ted Park, Christopher Shin, Gabby Shin, Ray Ye
Ivy Bridge Academy, Johns Creek, Georgia (Team 2)
Students: Aanya Arikepudi, Nirvi Baddela, Ella Chidolue, Paavana Davuluri, Isaac Hong, Pranay Kalra, Ethan Kwon, Neev Paul, Olivia Wang, Eric Xu
Jabberwocky Studio, Delhi, India
Students: Shaarav Gupta, Ganeve Kaur, Miraya Chitkara, Ananya Rana
Jasper High School, Plano, Texas
Students: Abhay Harika, Pratham Karia, Jay Lee, Dan Xie, Jacob Yang
Kealakehe Public High School, Kailua Kona, Hawaii
Students: Azalea Thorp, Lucy Cameron, Zachariah Smith, Autumn Brown, June Wheeler, Olivia Rudolph, Kaʻea Adams
King George British International School, Bucharest, Romania
Students: Iana Mihulescu, Estelle Badarni, Luca Guruiţă, Şerban Stanciu, Ema Dumitru, Irina Bănilă, Amira Badarni
KIPS College Sargodha / Aitchison College, Punjab, Pakistan
Students: Zainab Jamshed, Sayyed Muhammad Haider Ali, Bahawal Hussain Chattha, Hadi Mubashir Kazmi
Marymount Academy International, Montreal, Canada
Students: Bokyung Chung, Sanya Bucktawar, Shaya Catarina Fadel, Ranim Sleiman, Drisana Ravichandran, Saia Wallis
Millburn High School, Millburn, New Jersey
Students: Jake Silberstein, Rohan Nigam, Saanvi Kulkarni, Eleri Davies
Mountain View-Los Altos Speech and Debate, Mountain View, California
Students: Amyra Kedia, Andrea Wong, Charlene Wang, Laasya Kompella, Neha Nalumasu, Veda Mungara
Newark Academy, Livingston, New Jersey
Students: Sophia Mu, Abi Mengistu, Leah Gershgorin
North Allegheny Senior High School, Wexford, Pennsylvania
Students: Sanjeev Arora, Kaartic Muralidharan, Eric Peng, Aayushi Vardhan, Samuel Xiao, Casey Yang
Northport High School, Northport, New York
Students: Josh Fields, Nora Magas, Andrew McRoy
Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, California
Students: Madeleine Khammar, Cailyn Paredes, Scarlett Snoke
Notre Dame San Jose, San Jose, California
Students: Arushi Shah, Janani Janakiraman, Aanya Ramaswamy, Anushka Arjun, Aahana Nagwekar
Nova High School, Davie, Florida
Students: Jolie Filpo, Christie Carlo, Rubab Asif
Orlando Science High School, Orlando, Florida
Students: Aarati Abhilash, Madhu Chintalapati, Srihitha Doddi, Anushka Patni, Zahra Unlu
Panther Creek High School, Frisco, Texas
Students: Siri Chamaraj, Kanishka Jayakumar, Kinisha Katta
Phillips Academy Andover, Andover, Massachusetts
Students: Yara Handchin, Kristen Ma, Vivian Plouffe
Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire
Students: Aryan Agarwal, Kate Gilchrist, Minnie Kim, Alexa Morel, Melia Thibault
PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya 1, AFS Sambra, Karnataka, India
Students: Anirudh Singh, Varshini, Sahana Basavaraj Kunchanur, Zoya Ansari
Pomperaug Regional High School, Southbury, Connecticut
Students: Luciano Bevilacqua, Adam Wisnefsky, Matthew Nespoli
Richland High School, Prosper, Texas
Students: Sreekar Chalamalasetty, Gavin Hernandez, Ahaan Agrawal, Ayush Baral
Rock Canyon High School, Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Students: Sumanth Kaja, Arnav Kandukuri, Ishan Kalluri, Danush Murugesan
Saint Paul Preparatory Seoul, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Students: Bill Cho, Sarah Kwon, Seah Jin, Seungmin Oh, Victoria Hwang
San Marino High School, San Marino, California
Students: David Michael Dean, Kaihann Sayed Hashimi, Joonhee Kim
Saratoga High School, Saratoga, California
Students: Richard Chen, Anthony Luo, Sanyukta Ravishankar, Tanvee Tirthapura, Jet Tsang
Seido Mikawadai High School, Nagasaki, Japan
Students: Onishi Kohei, Tanaka Syugo, Matsuo Yuto, Murakami Keitaro
Seoul International School, Seongnam-si, Republic of Korea
Students: Anabelle YD Lee, Jacob Siyun Sung, Joseph Hahmmin Kang
Shanghai American School Puxi, Shanghai, China
Students: Yiming Chen, King Him Chung, Peng (Oscar) Su, Koki Kishida, Christian Wong
Shanghai Pinghe School, Shanghai, China
Students: Zhanbo Xie, Yizhang Chen, Zhilin Yang
Solon High School, Solon, Ohio
Students: Falak Dahiya, Minghao Gu, Ria Isayas, Sophia Shong, William Stella
Speech & Debate India, Mumbai, India
Students: Arnav Agrawal, Aadith Kacholia, Videep Agarwal
Summit Christian Academy, Yorktown, Virginia
Students: Oliver Clydesdale, Mercy Cooper, Daniel Gibson, Mason Kepka, Nathaniel Pettus, Natalee Strand
Syosset High School, Syosset, New York
Students: Jiayi Meng, Leon Zhao, Norman Li,Anabella Pisapia De Marco
TH School, Hanoi, Vietnam
Students: Lai Uyen Nhu, Nguyen Bao Anh, Tran Thanh Chi, Nguyen Khoa Dien, Le Khanh Vy
Troy High School, Troy, Michigan
Students: Shreyan Maini, Patricia Mao, Nathan Wang
Upper St. Clair High School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Students: Mana Barimani, Aaron Jiang, Maria Alfredson Themudo, Aryajeet Tatipamula, Michaela Pacella
Washington High School, Fremont, California
Students: Aditya Kaul, Aidan Fernandes, Vyomesh Vijay, Yashas Patil
Westwood High School, Austin, Texas (Team 1)
Students: Chaaya Annamreddy, Sristi Guduru, Saanvi Mittal, Ian Xu
Westwood High School, Austin, Texas (Team 2)
Students: Jadyn Kennedy, Max Lim, Apple Ma, Brianna Rodriguez
Westwood High School, Austin, Texas (Team 3)
Students: Ayushi Thakur, Tam Bao Tran, Diya Venkataragavan
Woodberry Forest School, Woodberry Forest, Virginia
Students: Silas Tai, Zihong Chen, Bryan Li
About the IPPF and the Brewer Foundation
The IPPF was founded in 2001 by the Brewer Foundation and is now jointly administered with New York University. The program is available to all high schools around the world – public and private. The IPPF is endorsed by leading forensic agencies, such as the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues, the International Debate Education Association, the Impact Coalition, Associated Leaders of Urban Debate Leagues, and the National Debate Coaches Association.
The Brewer Foundation is a private, non-profit organization funded by companies, individuals and the national litigation firm of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors. With offices in New York and Dallas, the Foundation has achieved widespread recognition for its efforts to create, fund and manage a variety of educational outreach programs.
Visit the IPPF at www.ippfdebate.com, www.facebook.com/ippfdebate, or www.instagram.com/ippfdebate.
For more information, contact:
Jasmine McClure, Communications Specialist Brewer Foundation
jmcclure@brewerattorneys.com
212.284.2583