Significance of Interschool Competitions in Schools

What are Interschool Competitions?

Right off the bat, let us first address the most obvious question of them all - what are interschool competitions? As the name suggests, they are competitions held among different schools with a single school hosting the event. Interschool competitions are usually conducted by large private schools with a large number of students and an immense wealth of resources, but they are also conducted by a group of government schools that collaborate with one another and these are usually funded by the government itself.

Types of Interschool Competitions

There are different ways in which different schools can compete with one another. Interschool competitions are based on the different categories under which students compete. Some of these different types include:

Arts Fests

These are the most common and most popular types of interschool competitions that take place. Arts fests are competitions where students from different schools compete with one another on the basis of their artistic prowess. This is not just restricted to fine arts like painting or drawing but also includes performing arts such as singing, dancing, acting, mimicry, mime, and so on. Arts fests are not only competitive but also fun and entertaining to both people watching as well as participating in the events, so these are the most attended events at interschool competitions.

Quiz Competitions

Quiz competitions are another category of competitions that garners a lot of interest, especially because they are educational in nature. Quizzes are fun to watch for the audience because they are getting information in a more engaging way, and it is highly competitive for the participants because of the unpredictability factor of it. Quiz competitions usually have three rounds -

The Written Round - This part of the competition will be conducted off stage, and it is in this round that the first stage of elimination takes place.
The Buzzer Round - In this round, the participants will be on stage, sometimes in groups, pairs, or sometimes individually, and they will be provided with a buzzer. The questions will be asked to all the participants at once, and whoever hits the buzzer first and answers with the right answer will get points. The participants with the highest number of points will get short-listed.
The Rapid Fire Round - This is mostly the final round in most quiz competitions where each team/individual will be given a series of questions one after the other in quick succession. After this round, the team/person with the highest number of right answers wins.

Tech Fests

Tech fests are competitions where students compete against one another on the basis of their proficiency in their knowledge of technology and engineering. Tech fests are usually conducted in colleges, but there are certain places where they are conducted in schools as well. They will mostly be conducted in private schools.

Personality Contests

Personality contests in interschool competitions are arguably a niche concept, but they do exist nonetheless and are always considered highly entertaining in the process. These are again conducted mostly in private schools as only they will have the funds to conduct such extravagant competitions.

Sports Competitions

Sports competitions are quite common in interschool competitions and are quite often the focal point of such competitions in the first place. A lot of athletes are born out of such competitions, and it has and continues to be an effective way of figuring out the best athletes and sports people in the country.

How Do Interschool Competitions Benefit Students?

Now comes the important question - why should interschool competitions even be conducted? Well, given below are some of the reasons it would be for students:

Networking

When a large number of students come together in a friendly competition, they will mingle with each other and earn each other's respect eventually leading them to be acquaintances and even friends. Interschool competitions can foster long-term relationships between students if they have similar goals or objectives in mind and if they have sufficient sportsmanship about it. Networking is a very important aspect when it comes to higher studies which will help them in the long run.

Coordinating Teamwork

Being able to coordinate and cooperate with one another to achieve a common goal is a very important life skill that everybody should have. This can be brought into effect by working together as a team. Teamwork is very important in the academic as well as the professional career of a student and therefore fostering it from a very young age is essential in improving and honing that skill.

Fostering Leadership Skills

This is an extension of the previous point but requires a definitive explanation all the same. Fostering leadership skills in students requires a lot of practice and real-world experience that a lot of students don't get because of their busy academic life. However, it is important to inculcate in them, at a young age, the importance and relevance of the same and point out the various advantages of having such a mindset.

Developing a Growth Mindset

Having a growth mindset is actually quite important in today’s context as opposed to having a stagnant fixed mindset. It shouldn’t be a surprise that people are buying into the hustle culture of today because of this - a growth mindset can unequivocally bring about a radical change in the overall outlook of a person. Interschool competitions help students get into that hustle culture quite seamlessly.

Social skills are another important factor that needs to be inculcated in students in order to get them to be better communicators. Communication is vital in today’s information age and it is in this context that it is important that students need to improve their social skills. The best way to develop social skills is by getting into the matter down and dirty, jumping into the water, and getting wet. These social skills will undoubtedly help them interact with one another more efficiently which will help them communicate better with any and all people.

Platform to Showcase Talents

Interschool competitions are a great way to showcase the talents of an individual by allowing them to compete with each other. Competition always brings out the best in people as they tend to push them to their limits to beat their opponents and in the process, they will also be pushing themselves beyond what they considered their limits as well.

How Do Interschool Competitions Benefit Schools?

Now that we have covered how interschool competitions benefit students, it is now time to understand how they can be beneficial to schools themselves:

Wider Recognition

When a school hosts an interschool competition, it brings students from other schools into the premises of the school, and hence, they get more recognition from other schools. If students find the atmosphere there welcoming and interesting, they may even decide to study in that school in later years.

Furthering Contacts Among Schools in the Area

With the influx of students from across schools, different schools would contact the host school to inquire about the competitions and what they stand to gain if they win. This can lead to dialogue between them and hence further better contact between them.

Better Image for the School

The overall image of the school will also be upheld in a good light because of the effort and strain they must have put into organizing such an event. This will help them build a name for themselves that will eventually help them in achieving the above two points.

Conclusion

So schools should try to actively bring in some entertainment and include interschool competitions as part of the culture of the school. This will not only make students who are already studying there see it as something to look up to but also incentivize more students to join the host school to see and experience the internal machinery of the school’s journey in organizing the event firsthand.

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