Developing thinking through ethics

By Mr Nick Martin, Assistant Head of Junior School Learning and Teaching

Two teams of Year 6 students recently participated in the Ethics Olympiad, competing against schools from across the Asia-Pacific region. This event supported our students to develop and apply a range of useful skills, including, engaging in thoughtful discussions around ethical issues, being challenged to think deeply, considering multiple perspectives, expressing their ideas with clarity and confidence, collaborating with peers, listening to different viewpoints, and constructively engaging in respectful debates.

Both Radford teams performed exceptionally well and demonstrated a strong understanding of complex ethical concepts. It was wonderful to watch the teamwork that was on display and to see the way they handled themselves when having to ‘think on their feet’. It was impressive to watch!

Beyond the competition, the experience of preparing for the Ethics Olympiad was just as valuable. It encouraged our students to reflect on their values, consider the impact of their choices, and practice articulating their ideas thoughtfully – all of which are integral to the IB PYP learner profile.

We are proud of our Year 6 students for their outstanding performance and look forward to seeing them continue to develop as ethical thinkers and communicators.

Some comments from our Year 6 students:

Ethics Olympiad was a journey through questions and deep thoughts that lead to new knowledge and insights into our world – Ayaan

The best part of Ethics Olympiad was being in teams and working together with new people I don't usually working with – Josey

The best part of Ethics Olympiad was cooperating with new people and trying to understand their perspectives – Ethan

The individuals in a team need to work and collaborate to create a strong foundation and from that foundation new knowledge can be built – Rixon

In the Ethics Olympiad team everyone is just a mere puzzle piece, but together we made a big picture – Mia

My favourite part of the Ethics Olympiad was just that everyone was committed and respectful, we all showed commitment and appreciation for each other and congratulated everyone after each heat – Tessa

The best part of Ethics Olympiad was the fact that it helped me to see situations through a different perspective and think more deeply – Hamish

The Ethics Olympiad not only make us think individually, but as a team. No matter what the score is in the end, the only thing that matters in Ethics Olympiad is that we all have fun – Samuel