SA L’Avenue’s Kuala Lumpur Scholars March Back from Global Victory​

From 22-27 August, 13 Sampoerna Academy L’Avenue Secondary Scholars in Grades 8 and 9 accompanied by Ms. Gello and Ms. Maya (from SA Sentul) travelled to Malaysia to compete in the Kuala Lumpur Global Round of the World Scholar’s Cup (WSC), attaining remarkable achievement.

With an approximate 2400 students hailing from 30 countries across 6 continents, WSC proudly extends its global and diverse embrace, featuring an unconventional approach to inspiring a global community through team-oriented challenges, namely: Team Debate, where 2 teams of 3 scholars each argue a 4 minute speech about—often times—a quirky and unconventional motion; Scholar’s Challenge, a 120 multiple-choice question exam that puts interdisciplinary skills to the test; Team Bowl, where scholars unite with their teams to answer a multi-media quiz event; and Collaborative Writing, where thousands of students gather their teams to compose captivating, original and creative proses. 

Throughout these events, scholars branch out into six core fields of knowledge: Arts, History, Literature, Science, Social Studies, and Special Area. Each subject is designed to have their own thought-provoking, unusual and often humorous debate motions that differentiate themselves from traditional, fact-based competitions. 

These initiatives pave the way for young participants to engage in civil discussions on unresolved global affairs and differing perspectives under this season’s theme of “Reigniting the Future”—ultimately encouraging research into a myriad of pressing humanitarian issues, and upholding the values of healthy communication, critical thinking, and collaboration.

The diversification and expansion of every scholar’s own social and global perspectives go hand-in-hand with the competitive, academic aspect of WSC. This idea is sustained throughout the additional events each Global Round has to offer compared to Regional Rounds, wherein scholars partake in the Scavenger’s Hunt, Cultural Fair, and Scholar’s Ball. When asked about the most memorable aspect of the competition, 8th-grade scholar from the Junior Division, Neha Felly, described “The social events, as I’ve made many new friends from all across the world from them, learning different cultural backgrounds.”

In light of their merit, Sampoerna scholars recognise their personal growth during setbacks when faced with academic rigor and challenge. “Trying to balance both traditional school work and studying for WSC’s syllabus was my biggest challenge,” notes Javanna Joesoef, another Junior Division scholar and the round’s 5th place Junior Debate Champion. Furthermore, when asked what challenges he had to overcome, Senior Division scholar Gavan Ardika remarks, “Training for Team Debate helped me overcome my fear of public speaking. Tackling procrastination was also a challenge—I had to pick up different styles of studying."

Brought home was beyond an abundance of awards, but an additional abundance of newfound knowledge in regards to the discovery of one’s strengths and team dynamics. Javanna sheds light on said lessons and explains,“A common critique of our team (in the Regional Round) was that we wouldn’t share our tasks equally among ourselves ... We worked on this and in the next round, and ended up being awarded two trophies and triple the amount of medals we got in the first round. Teamwork really is the most important thing when it comes to WSC."

Sampoerna Academy L’Avenue’s delegation thus returns with renewed confidence, deeper friendships and a clearer sense of purpose as young global citizens. Their achievement stands as a testament to perseverance, teamwork, and the courage to learn and grow—all qualities that define the World Scholar’s Cup, and the promise of even greater accomplishments to come.