At the annual National Schools Debating Championships, the most promising learners from poorly-resourced schools (schools which charge under a minimum threshold amount) are selected to take part in the Academy Program. This is an annual project of the SASDB that is designed to provide the best development speakers with the coaching they are unable to access at their schools and respective debating leagues. The Academy is a week-long training camp that will see these learners exposed to some of the top coaching expertise in South Africa.
In 2017, the SASDB plan to create an international tournament to be held the week after the Academy training camp to expose Academy Speakers to an international tournament. The tournament will be held in South Africa, during the second term public school holidays and shall include both local and international Schools debating teams. Further details shall be released soon.