The second annual Ethics Cup (know at that time as The John Stuart Mill Cup), was held on 6 June 2019. The tournament featured high school students matching wits with each other on a variety of ethical topics, including transgender rights, lowering the age of sexual consent, and workfare schemes. Eleven schools, from across Scotland and England, brought a team to the event, with a total of about 70-75 students taking part.
The championship match pitted Hermitage Academy, from Argyll and Bute, against High School of Dundee. They discussed two issues: Nazi-saluting pugs and lawbreaking environmental protests. In a unanimous decision, Hermitage triumphed and will proudly display the cup until next year’s event.
The judging panel for the championship match comprised Kit McCarthy (Member of Scottish Youth Parliament for North-east Fife), Iain Anderson (Executive Chairman of the Cicero Group), and Alastair Merrill (VP (Governance) at the University of St. Andrews. During the day the dueling teams were judged by non-academic professionals and scholars from a wide variety of fields (e.g. international relations, philosophy, legal studies and modern languages), but always on the same criteria: thoughtfulness, insightfulness and civility.
