Winton Cup Humanities Competition

A team of children in Form IV visited Stowe School to take part in the Winton Cup Humanities Competition.

The headmaster, Anthony Wallersteiner, told us the story of Sir Nicholas Winton, a philanthropic Old Stoic who was responsible for helping Jewish children escape from Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, in what became known as the Kindertransport. Our theme for the day was Compassion and we began by trying to define it.

We were given a number of tasks including an ‘ethical task’ to decide who would receive a new kidney, based on situation ethics. We had a ‘geographical task’ identifying worldwide natural disasters of the 21st century and deciding how to apportion humanitarian aid. We looked at six historical figures and decided who was the most compassionate by judging, amongst other things, their long term impact on society. We also enjoyed a lovely walk through the grounds to visit the Temple of British Worthies and we considered possible worthies for the 21st century.

We rounded off the day with a talk by Dr Mike Scanlan about how to use the gap between receiving information and reacting to information. He told us the story of a monk who prayed every morning and thought nice things about his captors. Eventually, overwhelmed by compassion, his captors released him. Dr Scanlan taught us about the power of a smile and how serotonin (the 'happy hormone') is released by compassionate actions.

It was a wonderfully thought-provoking day for our team who took pride in their ability to think for themselves and work together.

Jan Price
Head of RS & PSHE