This was World Scholar’s Cup tournament of champions. They had been to nationals in Adelaide, worlds in Bangkok and this was the best of the best junior scholars exploring the theme ‘an imperfect world’ through collaborative essays, debating, quizzes and a scavenger hunt drawing on all school subjects.

Year eight students Sam Duthie, Tom Playstead and year seven Alana Ryan returned with a swag of medals for their efforts. Tom said the almost-year long experience allowed them to pursue topics and findings as much or as little as they wanted.

“We found things that really helped further our understanding on things we had studied in class,” Tom said. “It was a pretty amazing experience and really moved away from being a competitive event.”

The trio said the vibe at Yale, and hearing from Yale students, gave them an exciting new take on learning.