World Scholar's Cup

On the weekend of June 6-7, the World Scholar's Cup descended on Perth for the second time. Founded in Korea in 2007, the World Scholar's Cup is an international enrichment tournament that motivates students to demonstrate their existing strengths and to discover new ones. It aims to celebrate a love of learning while fostering a global community of future scholars and leaders.

The World Scholar's Cup has been hosting Regional competitions all around the world since late 2014 and Week 7 of this term was Australia's turn to compete. Scotch College selected 30 boys from Years 7, 8 and 9 to compete in the Junior Division (11-14 years). The boys had been attending weekly study sessions since the beginning of term under the mentorship of James Naylor-Pratt (Year 11 Anderson House) and Drummond Orr (Year 11 Ferguson House), who attended the WSC Tournament of Champions at Yale University in 2014.

The 2015 theme was 'The World Unbound' and students were taking part in team challenges based on History, Science, Arts, Literature, Social Studies, Heroes and Superheroes. Each team consisted of three members who had to compete in four events as a group. The four events were Scholar's Debate, Scholar's Bowl, Collaborative Writing and Scholar's Challenge. The event ran for two full days and although it was a considerably long and challenging weekend, the boys' enthusiasm did not wane.

Amidst all of the essay writing, team debates, interactive quizzes and multiple choice tests there was still time for much laughter, enjoyment and new friendships to be made. The day concluded with a Debate Showcase, Talent Show and an Awards Presentation Ceremony. Two of our Scotch College students were selected to participate in the Debate Showcase based on their performances earlier in the day. The impromptu debate centered on the motion that 'Australians make the best superheroes', and it was a fantastic display of quick thinking, intelligent arguments and persuasive public speaking skills.

As the Presentation Ceremony drew to a close, Scotch College left the Regional Round with an abundance of medals and trophies for a number of individual and team achievements. Three of our teams placed in the top five teams in Junior Division, with one team being named the Overall Champion Junior Team.

Lewis Orr, Thomas Hodge, Jack Taylor (1^st Place Junior Team)

Cole Walker, Rafe Harrison-Murray, Tanay Narula (2^nd Place Junior Team)

Darius Opie, William Steinberg, Daniel Wiese (4^th Place Junior Team)

Darcy Frazer, Jordan Bowling, Riley Thomas

Prentice Shepherd, Harry Penrose, Oliver Broun

Gianni Kain, Tomaye Mojeutan, Will Reeves

Lachlan Norcott, Adam Darley, Nicholas Gower

Harry Pasich, Benjamin Marshall, Jack Adams

Lucas Triglavcanin, Blake Costello, Nathan Thomas

Shayan Saebi, Jed Hood, Sean Pentony

Middle School Achievements

Adam Darley - 3^rd place: The Arts

Will Reeves - 2^nd place: The Arts

Sean Pentony - 3^rd place: Literature

Blake Costello - 4^th place: Individual Debate, 7^th place: Overall Student

Benjamin Marshall - 3^rd place: History

Thomas Hodge - 1^st place: History, 1^st place: Special Area, 1^st place: Scholar's Challenge

Jack Taylor - 2^nd place: Social Studies, 3^rd place Science

William Steinberg - 3^rd place: Special Area, 5^th place: Overall Student

Lewis Orr - Overall Champion Student, 3^rd place: Writing, 2^nd place: Individual Debate, 1^st place: Scotch College student

Dr Rob McEwan, Mr Sam Sterrett and Ms Deborah Mullin

World Scholar's Cup