The Practical Ethics and Responsibility Competition is an annual competition open to school students in Year 11, 12 or 13, in which small teams research a topic and make a video to tell us about an ethical problem and how they think responsibility is involved. This year we received over 40 entries, and judges had a difficult time picking the top four who joined us in Oxford on 25th March for a full day of competition and debate.
The final places were decided by two debates:
Topic A: It should be legal for physicians to help patients to end their own lives if they are suffering and are expected to die within 6 months anyway.
Topic B: We have ethical responsibilities towards AI companions (for example, AI friends/AI romantic partners).
After excellent presentations and a rigorous debate the winners are the Westminster School team who received a cash prize of £250. Highgate Senior School placed second, St Paul's School for Girls placed third, and Christ’s Hospital School placed fourth. You can see all their videos, plus those of the Highly Commended teams, on the 2025 competition page.
We’d like to thank all the teams and their supporting teachers who took part this year, it is inspirational to see the next generation of ethicists emerging so strongly!
Links
Practical Ethics and Responsibility Competition webpage Video entries of the 2025 Finalists and Highly Commended teams
