We are so proud to celebrate Grade 9 student Tomonobu Yamaguchi, who recently competed in the 2025 World Scholar's Cup Tournament of Champions held at Yale, an extraordinary achievement in a competition that drew over 40,000 students from six continents. The WSC challenges students through debate, writing, team collaboration, and knowledge tests tied to an annual theme; this year’s, Reigniting the Future, asked scholars to explore how past traditions shape future possibilities. Tomonobu began his journey in April at the regional round in China, advanced to the Global Round, and earned his spot at the Championship finals, among nearly a thousand top-performing students worldwide.
Throughout the seven-month journey, Tomonobu demonstrated CA’s values of curiosity, independence, challenge, and resilience. What began as a suggestion from his science teacher soon became a personal mission: he dedicated himself to researching the theme, studying since April, and filling six notebooks with notes to prepare for each round. His commitment paid off. Tomonobu earned silver medals in debate, essay writing, and the Scholar’s Challenge, while his team won gold for overall performance and team writing. With only 15 minutes given to prepare for the debate topic he was given of "AI with emotions should be considered more dangerous than AI with ability to imagine", he successfully pulled it off. Tomonobu shared that this was the most demanding element, especially being required to argue positions he didn’t necessarily agree with, but he embraced the challenge with courage and conviction.
Equally powerful were the connections he made along the way. Competing in the Junior Division as part of a team of three friends from his previous school, Tomonobu met scholars from across East Asia, Europe, Kenya, Latin America, and beyond. He also met a former CA student at the Tournament of Champions and enjoyed being able to showcase Japanese culture during cultural exchanges as well as letting loose in the Scholars Ball. For Tomonobu, who hopes to study engineering one day, the experience of visiting Yale for the first time was especially inspiring.
Reflecting on the journey, Tomonobu expressed gratitude for the support of his parents, and for the independence his team developed through planning, studying, and traveling together. He encourages future CA students to give WSC a try, but also reminds them not to underestimate the time, commitment, and financial investment involved. To those who may not advance past the first round, he offers heartfelt advice rooted in IB values: participating is already an accomplishment, learning is meaningful no matter the outcome, and trying again, is something to be proud of. Through challenge, collaboration, and creativity, Tomonobu showed what it means to step boldly into a global arena, and to emerge stronger for it.
To learn more about the The World Scholar's Cup, head over to this webpage.