College Team Win Silver at Middle School Ethics Olympiad

Two College teams recently had the opportunity to participate in the 2024 Middle School Ethics Olympiad, where middle school students across the North Island gathered online to discuss eight ethical cases. Over a period of six or so hours, these ten students demonstrated logical reasoning and teamwork as they deliberated over cases that ranged from AI to the morality of fast fashion.

Unlike debating and other speech-type tournaments, Ethics Olympiad does not require teams to definitely stand for or against a point. Instead, teams can choose to support and elaborate on the other team’s presentation. The competition focuses heavily on sportsmanship and collaboration, with teams being judged on respectful dialogue as well as their performance in a wide range of techniques.

The day began with a brief introduction, before moving onto the mock round where teams accustomed themselves to the unfamiliar structure. This was followed by four rounds of intense teamwork and collaboration, with students rising to the occasion with profound insights into the given cases. By three in the afternoon – after all eight cases had been explored – both teams were exhausted but satisfied with their performance.

The Saint Kentigern Yellow team emerged in second place and have been invited to compete in the International Finals in February. The members Ruby Ma, Bella Chen, Ruolin Xiao, Ava Crawshaw and Tiffany Wang each received a silver medal for their achievement.

Saint Kentigern Lime, composed of Jessica Jin, Sophia Leong, Peter Hu, Oliver White, and Claire Liu placed seventh in the competition and got an honourable mention by the judges.

Written by Year 9 student Bella Chen