Format Guide
British Parliamentary High School: format guide
BP High School is a variant of British Parliamentary used at secondary school competitions. It uses the same four-team structure as university BP (WUDC) but with shorter 5-minute speeches and a slightly different POI window. This variant is explicitly not supported by most debate timer apps including Debatekeeper — DebateClock has a dedicated preset for it.
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BP High School vs BP University
| Feature | BP University (WUDC) | BP High School |
|---|
| Speech length | 7 minutes | 5 minutes |
| POI window | 1:00 – 6:00 | 0:30 – 4:30 |
| Teams per round | 4 | 4 |
| Speakers per team | 2 | 2 |
| Total speeches | 8 | 8 |
| Prep time | None in-round | None in-round |
Speech order
The speech order is identical to university BP: Prime Minister (OG), Leader of Opposition (OO), Deputy PM (OG), Deputy LO (OO), Member for Gov (CG), Member for Opp (CO), Gov Whip (CG), Opp Whip (CO). All speeches are 5 minutes with the POI window at 0:30–4:30.
Frequently asked questions
Why does BP High School have a different POI window?
With only 5 minutes per speech, the standard 1:00–6:00 window used in university BP would leave almost no protected time. The 0:30–4:30 window keeps the first 30 seconds and last 30 seconds protected while allowing POIs across the majority of the speech.
Does any timer app support BP High School?
Most do not. Debatekeeper's documentation explicitly states BP High School is not supported. DebateClock has a dedicated BP High School preset with the correct speech times and POI window.
Is the scoring the same as university BP?
Yes. All four teams are ranked 1st through 4th using the same criteria as WUDC.
Related guides
Informational timing aid only · Not affiliated with NSDA, WUDC, WSDC, CUSID, or Tabroom · Always defer to the tournament director for timing disputes ·
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