Landing Hero Green
Durham Academy Speech & Debate
The Durham Academy Speech & Debate program fields one of the nation's most competitive teams, setting the standard for continued excellence at the highest levels. We believe every student can succeed in gaining valuable skills through speech and debate — whether they are competing for a national championship, honing their skills in local competitions, or simply exploring the art of public speaking and debate alongside our team.
Our team competes in 10 speech events, including interpretation of literature, limited prep and platform speaking, and three debate events that range in subjects from current events to philosophical questions of ethics and values.
- Oratorical Declamation
- Dramatic Interpretation
- Duo Interpretation
- Extemporaneous Speaking
- Humorous Interpretation
- Impromptu Speaking
- Informative Speaking
- Oral Interpretation of Literature
- Original Oratory
- Programmed Oral Interpretation
- Congressional Debate
- Lincoln-Douglas Debate
- Public Forum Debate
2025 North Carolina State Runner-Up • 2024 NSDA National Champion • 2024 NSDA School of Outstanding Distinction • 2023 NCFL Daniel S. Masterson Award of Excellence in Forensics • 2023 NCFL Eleanor E. Wright Award of Excellence in Debate • 2023 William Woods Tate Jr Team Excellence Award
Growing as a public speaker taught 'high school me' that I can do hard things and eventually succeed at them even if it doesn't feel easy or comfortable — a valuable lesson that empowered me to take on challenging courses and opportunities in college, medical school, and now OBGYN residency.
Second, debate helped me be a critical consumer of news, media, and research. Teaching me how to construct an argument helps me evaluate the logical links in others' arguments. Finding evidence for debate cases taught me to consider the biases in news media and in academic schools of thought. Being a critical consumer of information helps me as a citizen and physician. Finally, debate taught me to appreciate the diverse strengths and interests of others.
Dr. Catherine Yang ’14
Inova Fairfax Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program
2024
National Champions, NSDA Public Forum Debate
70
NSDA Academic All-Americans
8
National Championships
2022
Leading Chapter Award Winner
46
State Championships
84
Students in Upper School Speech & Debate