Honeyland School Defeats Grace High School in Thrilling I Beg to Differ Debate

Honeyland School has emerged victorious over Grace High School in a fiercely contested debate at the 2026 I Beg to Differ National Debate Championship.

The two schools, both unbeaten before the encounter, went head-to-head on the motion: 

“Continuous Assessment Is Better Than Examinations.” 

What followed was a battle of ideas, with both teams delivering strong arguments and sharp rebuttals in a contest that kept the audience engaged.

Honeyland School, which proposed the motion, argued that continuous assessment provides a more accurate picture of a student’s abilities because it measures performance over time rather than relying on a single examination.

The team, represented by Osagiede Omoregie Joseph and Apegi Precious, said continuous assessment can identify students’ learning gaps early, reduce examination anxiety and discourage the culture of cramming. 

They also argued that it better reflects real-life situations, where consistency and sustained performance are often more important than success on a single day.

Making the case against one-off examinations, Joseph compared the system to a farmer planting a seed and waiting until harvest before assessing its growth, arguing that such an approach ignores the journey and focuses only on the final outcome.

But Grace High School came prepared to challenge the proposition.

Representing the opposition, Karim Ireoluwa and Makun Fikayo argued that examinations remain an important and objective way of determining what students actually know and can do independently.

They acknowledged the role of continuous assessment but questioned its reliability, pointing to the possibility of students receiving assistance from parents, tutors and artificial intelligence tools when completing projects and take-home assignments.

The fierce exchange continued into the rebuttal rounds, with both teams defending their positions and challenging weaknesses in their opponents’ arguments.

At the end of the contest, the judges gave Honeyland School a cumulative score of 75 points, compared with 72 points for Grace High School.

The audience vote also reflected how closely matched the teams were, with Honeyland securing 51% against Grace High School’s 49%.

The final tally placed Honeyland School ahead with 80.1 points, while Grace High School finished with 76.9 points.

The victory takes Honeyland School to top of Group A, as the national debate championship, continues to produce closely fought encounters among some of the country’s leading secondary schools.