The Ethics Olympiad offers schools a unique opportunity to develop critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills. The Ethics Olympiad has a proven track record of providing teachers and students with a creative vehicle for developing skills in communication, critical thinking, and respectful discourse while dealing with important and interesting ethical issues. Over 1000 schools participate annually in the Ethics Olympiad from countries such as Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.

At the Olympiad, we refer to students as “Eth-letes” as, like athletes, they are in training for excellence in ethical thinking. Unlike debating, students can take the position they want at an Ethics Olympiad. They work as a team along with teams from other schools to come up with the best possible answer to difficult ethical questions.

Year 7 – Parachutes & Forces

Year 7 students attend an after-school session (Module 8), where they compete in groups of three by designing, building and testing a parachute that prevents an egg from breaking when launched from the ground up into the air (using a water-pressure rocket).

The competition involves some inventive designs, making the event interesting and exciting. In the final heat, the most successful parachute should be able to suspend its egg in the air for the longest time.

Year 8 – Synergy Solar Car Challenge

Year 8 students compete in a five-week programme in groups of four to design, build and race a model solar car, reinforcing the concepts covered in the Physics component of the Western Australian Science syllabus. Once the solar car models have been completed, the groups compete in heats on a 20m race track. The winning group competes in the District Finals against schools from the Southern Metro Area.

Year 9 & 10 – Pop Stick Bridge or Tower

Year 9 & 10 students are organised into teams and tasked with designing and constructing a 1m pop stick bridge or tower, engineered to support a minimum of 6kg. Beyond the sheer structural challenge, the competition encourages experimentation and collaboration. The finals are held each year at the National Science Week Assembly. The winning bridge or tower is the one that holds the most weight without collapsing.

Every year, the highest-achieving Mathematics students from Years 6-9 are selected to participate in the Australasian Problem-Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO).

Students attend weekly Olympiad practice sessions after school (Module 8) and compete in four Olympiad tests during Term 2 and 3. The highest achiever from each division receives a trophy, and other students achieving in the higher bands receive cloth patches or badges.

The APSMO is a not-for-profit, professional organisation established in 1987. Their aim is to:

• Promote and improve problem-solving skills in Mathematics amongst students in primary and secondary schools across Australia and New Zealand;
• Support teachers in developing their students to understand a variety of strategies to promote flexibility in their problem-solving;
• Encourage creativity and collaboration in problem-solving; and,
• Stimulate enthusiasm for and enjoyment of Mathematics.

These programmes are designed to develop a problem-solving pathway of achievement and allow students to enhance their skills and knowledge.