LGS Paragon makes Pakistan proud

Islamabad : It’s been 7 years since Lahore Grammar School Paragon City became the first ever school from Pakistan to make it to the semifinals of a major international debating competition, Eurasian Schools Debating championship 2012. The latest edition of LGS Paragon debates team made history by making it to the final of Eurasian Schools Debating championship 2019, says a press release.

The young team made Pakistan proud to be the first ever school from the nation to make it to the final of a competitive, major international debates tournament comprising of teams from all over Europe, Asia and Africa.

LGS Paragon comprised of young stars-Raffay Tabasum, Fatima Fareed and Umar Iqbal who closely lost final to Greece Mzansi school from Greece in the Grand final. Over the course of the tournament, LGS Paragon defeated the highest breaking team of the tournament from South Africa in the quarter finals.

LGS Paragon recently came under a lot of pressure due to government private school fee regulation and was on the cusp of scrapping its debates program but the Principal, Salman Yasin, managed to keep program alive which according to him is important for critical thinking and speaking ability.

The team was coached by Abbas Azmat, a recent graduate of Lahore University of Management Sciences and LGS Paragon alumni- Rafeel Qadrey, of the Lahore School of Economics. Abbas Azmat who chaperoned the team in Turkey, and one of the top coaches in Pakistan debate circuit argued that ‘Debates allow young students and adults alike to view the world differently, from all perspectives’. He said that ‘Debates breed a sense of tolerance for other communities and the art of reasoning’

The team were delighted with their performance. The youngest, Raffay is due to appear for his final O-Level exams. Umar and Fatir are currently in the first year of their A-Levels program. Young guns look forward to making Pakistan proud in the coming days.