History

The Sydney Philosothon is an annual inter-school event running since 2009, organised through a collaboration between the Association of Philosophy in Schools NSW (PinS NSW) and the host school: Newington College. We wish to acknowledge and thank the previous schools who have hosted this event: Ascham, Cranbrook, St Andrew’s Cathedral School and North Sydney Girls High School. This event grows each year, as does the number of trained teachers using Philosophy in Schools pedagogy in NSW classrooms.

The event

Students prepare to engage in three collaborative philosophical discussions known as Communities of Inquiry (COI). By engaging in philosophical inquiry with peers, students enhance their critical thinking skills, employ their capacity for reasoned argumentation, and broaden their understanding of diverse perspectives. Each COI will be facilitated by attending teachers and assessed by teachers and philosophers. Prizes (generously donated by NewPhilosopher) will be offered to the top three scoring teams and the top individuals overall. Stimulus material will be sent to those who register.

The event open to all and is free of charge to schools who are members of PinS NSW (contact ksvircev@newington.nsw.edu.au for access to these tickets). In 2025, schools may enter one or two teams. Each team must consist of two Junior students (Years 7-9) and two Senior students (Years 10-12). In order to provide a robust judging panel (to ensure a successful and fulfilling experience for all students), each participating school must be accompanied by a teacher who has been through the two-day Introduction to Philosophical Community of Inquiry training, which is required in order to facilitate/assess COIs: https://events.humanitix.com/introduction-to-philosophical-community-of-inquiry-workshop

2025 Stimuli can be found here.
Teams must be registered by latest 30 June 2025.

Special considerations

Each year one or more independent (non-school) teams may be permitted to participate, by exception. In order to accommodate the additional students in the competition, the host school must agree to supply a teacher/judge for the independent team(s), and parental permission must be granted. To express interest for 2025, please contact philosophyinschoolsnsw@gmail.com

Some bursaries are available to enable students from all backgrounds to be able to participate. To inquire, please email the Philosothon administrative assistant on ksvircev@newington.nsw.edu.au

If your school is interested to participate but don't meet the above criteria, or if you have any other questions relating to the event, please email the Philosothon administrative assistant on ksvircev@newington.nsw.edu.au

Sydney Philosothon 2025

Choose your tickets

Teacher Facilitator/Judge + Team of 4 students ticket