On May 3rd and 4th, seventeen students from the Middle School competed in the Tokyo Round of the World Scholar’s Cup. The World Scholar’s Cup consists of four events: Team Debate, Scholar’s Challenge, Collaborative Writing, and the Scholar’s Bowl.

“My favorite part of WSC was debating,” said one 8th grade student. “It was quite fun to do it and also I did much better than I actually expected so I am so satisfied with the outcomes too.” Commenting on Collaborative Writing, a 7th grade student said: “I really liked writing an essay because we can write creatively and that gives us many options on how to write. This also makes writing it more fun since it can be anything you want.” The Scholar’s Challenge is a multiple choice test that includes questions from a variety of subjects. The Scholar’s Bowl is a massive event held in the auditorium involving each team using a clicker to answer questions projected on the screen.

One of our 8th grade students was chosen to participate in the Debate Showcase, which featured eight outstanding debaters from the Team Debate. The resolution was “That it should be illegal to create AI simulations of real people.” She was part of the affirmative team, and her team won the debate. The same student also performed in the talent show.

Another 8th grade student earned a trophy for having the second highest overall point total for all four events. The same student was the high scorer in the category of Arts & Music for the Scholar’s Challenge. Additionally, one of our 7th grade students earned the top score in the category of Literature & Media.

All of the teams from Saint Maur qualified for the Global Rounds, which are held in various cities, including London and Bangkok, during the summer. Regardless of whether they are able to compete in the Global Rounds, the Tokyo Round was a great success. As a 7th grade student said, “It was a new experience for me, it was challenging, but it was also a lot of fun!”