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Competition / Program
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Description
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Year Groups
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Number of students
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da Vinci Decathlon
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- Challenge and stimulate minds
- Teams of eight
- 10 disciplines
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7-11
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Five teams of eight students. One team per year group.
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The Quest
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- The challenges provide opportunity for creativity, problem solving and teamwork.
- Mathematics, Sciences and Humanities
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7-8
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Teams of three
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Tournament of Minds
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- Open-ended challenges that foster creative, divergent thinking.
- The Arts, Language Literature, Social Sciences and STEM.
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7-11 |
Teams of seven
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Future Problem Solving –
Global Issues Problem Solving
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- Research a series of global topics
- Learn the creative problem solving process.
- Critically analyse an imagined situation set in the future and solve a major issue
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Middle Years 7-9
Senior Years 10-12
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Teams of four or Individual
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Future Problem Solving – Scenario Writing
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- Develop short stories (1500 words or less)
- Set at 20 – 30 years in the future
- Provide an imagined but logical outcome
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Middle Years 7-9
Senior Years 10-12
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Individual
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Future Problem Solving –Scenario Performance
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- Tell creative and entertaining, short, futuristic stories.
- Submit short videos of themselves orating a story.
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Middle Years 7-9
Senior Years 10-12
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Individual
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Future Problem Solving –Community Problem Solving
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- Select real world problem, identify a solution, and then actively implement their action plan
- Develops strategic thinking, leadership skills and encourages a wider contribution to community service.
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Middle Years 7-9
Senior Years 10-12
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Individual or team
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Ethics Olympiad
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- Develop skills in critical thinking, collaboration and communication.
- In teams of 5 you engage with each other and teams from other schools on interesting and relevant cases
- Respond to questions while building and critiquing their own and others’ arguments
- Opportunity to build arguments with each other in a framework that encourages careful considered responses to important ethical issues.
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Senior Years 10-12
Middle Years 7-9
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Teams of five
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Philosophy Club
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- For curious students looking for solutions to the fundamental issues faced by humankind.
- We will meet regularly to discuss a range of philosophical topics, using the New Philosopher magazine as a stimulus for discussion.
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7-12
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Unlimited
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Free Thinkers Forum
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- Student-centred whole day activity
- Opportunity for students from various schools to come together to listen and discuss topics of particular interest to them.
- Schools are invited to send groups of students with a nominated speaker amongst them.
- Speeches are prepared beforehand from a wide assortment of 30+ topics.
- Group discussions based on the speeches
- Certificates are awarded for Best Argument, Most Engaging Speech and Most Original Perspective as judged by their peers.
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9-11
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10-12 students
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Ethics Exploration Day
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- This is an opportunity for like-minded students from schools across Sydney to get together and discuss ethical issues relevant to their world.
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9-10
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10-12 students
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UN Youth Evatt Competition
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- Mock Security Council resolutions.
- Assigned a country, develop stance, then debate, amend and finally vote on two resolutions.
- Develops public speaking and negotiation skills.
- Ideal for those interested in international relations, politics and world affairs.
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9-12
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Teams of two
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UN Youth Negotiations Competition
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- Take the role of state negotiators in finding practical and pragmatic solutions to disputes.
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10-12
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Teams of two
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UN Youth NSW Voice Competition
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- Unique public speaking competition
- Invites you to solve real issues that affect our community, our country and our world.
- Encourages you to think outside the box
- Put your design thinking skills to the test in order to develop innovative and creative, yet feasible, solutions to real world problems.
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Junior Division (Years 7 and 8)
Senior Division (Years 9 and 10)
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Individual
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Mock Trial
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- Conducted by The Law Society of New South Wales
- Practical and helps increase understanding of the judicial system.
- Cases are criminal and civil matters
- A team may act as either the defence or prosecution
- Each team member taking on the role of a barrister, solicitor, court officer or witness, pitting their skills against the opposing side.
- Each trial is presided over by a Magistrate.
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10-12
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Teams of six
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Mock Mediation
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- Another initiative of The Law Society of New South Wales.
- Identify the issue in dispute, consider options and work towards an agreement that will meet the needs of all parties.
- Develops active listening, self awareness, questioning, analysing, empathising, speaking clearly and logically and creative thinking.
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9-10
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Teams of six
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Debating
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- An independent inter-school debating competition
- Improve ability to speak confidently and to debate in public.
- Practise in thinking rapidly and arranging arguments in a coherent fashion.
- Helps develop critical thinking that is particularly helpful in essay writing.
- Useful for oral assessments in the HSC.
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7-12
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Squads of six
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Rostrum Voice of Youth Public Speaking Competition
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- National speaking competition
- Provides an excellent opportunity to gain experience and confidence in expressing their views and communicating a message.
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Junior
7-9
Senior
10-12
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Three students in the Junior Divisions
Three students in the Senior Division
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Mikolot Public Speaking
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- Cultivates better public speaking skills
- Fosters a more refined expression of Jewish voices in the modern world.
- Students are given a topic in Judaism to discuss and compete to make it through the national Grand Finals.
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7-12
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Individual
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Chess
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- Weekly coaching
- A number of chess competitions throughout the year.
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7-12
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Teams of four
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National History Challenge
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- Exciting contest that encourages students to use research and inquiry-based learning to discover more about the past.
- You can investigate your community, explore your own and your family’s past and consider ideas throughout history.
- Offers a variety of presentation styles.
- It rewards students with generous cash prizes and travel opportunities.
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7-12
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Individual
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What Matters?
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- Writing competition responding to the simple question ‘What matters?’
- Encourages you to develop a perspective, a point of view, on where we’re heading as a society’.
- Free to express your views on any matter you care about.
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7-12
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Individual
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More Able & Ambitious Study Day
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- For bright ambitious students who are interested in ideas.
- Designed to stretch clever youngsters by exploring key questions and big ideas.
- Spend the day with like-minded youngsters all keen to reach the ceiling of their ability and share ideas.
- Experienced gifted educator, Julie Arliss and lecturers from Oxford University, Aberdeen University and London University will stretch and challenge your students.
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10-12
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10 – 12 places
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Stretch and Challenge Study Day
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- Improve thinking skills
- Become intellectually creative
- Think systematically and rigorously about relevant modern day issues
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7-9
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10-12 places
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Meet the Experts – Australian Museum
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- Held once a term
- Opportunity for students to hear directly from experts in a range of fields
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7-12 |
unlimited |
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THE YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS (TYE) PROGRAM
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- Series of structured workshops for High School students where the students learn how to come up with a good business idea and build a plan around it
- Participants are mentored in teams by Charter Members, culminating in a formal presentation of their idea and plan to a panel of experienced entrepreneurs. The winning team gets to pitch at the global TYE finale.
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9-12
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Teams of four/five
Maximum six teams
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The Aurecon Bridge Building Competition
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- The Aurecon Bridge Building Competition offers secondary school students ‘real-world’ experience of what they can look forward to as future engineering students and professionals.
- This competition encourages students to unlock their potential by engaging with STEM early.
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8-9
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Teams of three
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Class Clowns
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- Comprising a competition, workshop and mentoring program, Class Clowns plays a valuable role in supporting the confidence and creativity of young Australians – providing a channel for self-expression, a platform for amplifying the voices and perspectives of young people and a pathway for emerging Australian talent.
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7-12
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Unlimited
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Generation Earthshot
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- An exciting new, global, educational initiative for students aged 10 – 15
- Created to encourage students to generate ideas to solve the world’s greatest environmental challenges
- Designed to unlock the potential of the next generation of inventors, innovators and leaders.
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7-12
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Unlimited
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