The 2026 Cup has concluded! The champions were Reading School, while second place was taken by the Grammar School at Leeds. Stay tuned for news about next year’s competition!
The 2026 Ethics Cup was contested initially at 12 regional tournaments across England, Scotland and Wales:
- Cardiff University
- Caterham School
- West Midlands
- North-East Scotland
- University of Liverpool
- Durham University
- London
- North London Collegiate School
- South West
- University of Manchester
- University of Leeds
- Nottingham
The most successful 12 schools from those tournaments converged on St Andrews on 28 April for a single-day competition, where they debated cases concerning whole life sentences, no-platforming, climate change action, and many more!
The teams were divided into two groups: Yellow and Green. In the group stage, each team played five matches, with the winners proceeding to the Championship match.
The Championship match pitted The Grammar School at Leeds from Goup Yellow against Reading School from Group Green to discuss two cases: Brave New World and Deep-fake Nude. The Championship match was judged by a distinguished panel: Sally Mapstone, Principal of the University of St. Andrews, Kapil Summan, the editor of Scottish Legal News and supporter of Free to Disagree, and Vitalii Diakov, founder of the Bring Together project. By a 2-1 vote, Reading won the match and two cups: the cup to keep, and the cup to pass, which they will display for a year before passing it on to the next winning team.
In addition, four special prizes were awarded:
– “Master Arguers Prize”: awarded to Elgin Academy, who presented the most compelling argument
– “Open Mind Exemplars Prize”: awarded to Woodhouse College, who showed the greatest ability and willingness to consider different perspectives
– “Champions of Nuance Prize”: awarded to Cardiff Sixth Form College, who showed the greatest ability to nuance and adjust their position
– “Courageous Fighters Prize”: awarded to Reading School, who showed the greatest courage in defending a position that might be difficult or controversial
Congratulations to everyone!