After winning the London regional round of the Ethics Cup (held at LSE on 16 December 2024), ten Etonians studying Divinity in Year 12 progressed to the final, which was held at St Andrews University. The competition itself took place on Tuesday 10 June, but the group arrived the afternoon beforehand, allowing some time to explore the town.
The peaceful train journey to Scotland was peppered with last-minute preparation for the competition and some spectacular scenery along the English and Scottish coasts. Once we arrived, we briefly settled into the student accommodation and then began to explore the town. Conversation over dinner was intently focused on the big day ahead.
Breakfast on Tuesday was no different. We began the day with an informative tour led by a third-year student at St Andrews, which culminated in the commencement of the tournament in the university’s quadrangle. Zain C represented Eton’s team during the introduction process and chose the ball that placed us in the Green Group as the third team.
We were assigned two ethical cases to work on: Case Nine (in the second round) and Case Three (in the third round). Case Nine, focused on assassinations and reprisals, addressed the issue of a civilian resistance movement carrying out the assassination of an oppressive general, knowing that it would result in the death of 250 innocent civilians at the hands of the occupying military. The third case, concerning teachers on OnlyFans, discussed the resignation of a U.S. high school teacher after her OnlyFans content became public, sparking debate over whether her actions were morally inappropriate or a valid exercise of her right to a private life.
In the first round of the group stages, we received a bye. In the second round, we lost 3–0, but in the third, we won 2½–½. Despite amassing many points, we were unfortunately unable to progress to the next stage of the competition due to the voting results. Nevertheless, as Alex W remarked, “It was an amazing opportunity to intellectually dive headfirst into contested ethical issues and debate against other enthusiastic students from areas across the country,” regardless of the result.
However, the trip did not end with the competition. After the reception, where we spoke with students from other schools and people involved with the Ethics Cup, we visited another beach. There, much enjoyment was had as we built a dam with rocks to combat the tidal forces and dug a huge hole in the sand! As we were leaving, we bumped into one of the other competing schools and organised to have dinner together. We were pleasantly surprised to find yet another school already there when we arrived. Returning to the accommodation was a slightly bittersweet moment: we were glad to have made new friends, but we knew this would be the last time we were all together.
Special thanks go to Dr Soars and Miss Awan for organising and accompanying us on this trip; without their support, it would not have been possible. We hope that Eton’s team next year surpasses our success and learns as much from the experience as we did.
