Magis Report 

World Scholars Cup – Bangkok Global Round

We would like to recognise the extraordinary success of our World Scholar’s Teams at the Global Round of the World Scholar’s Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, a few weeks ago. The World Scholars Cup (WSC) is an annual international academic program, with more than 15,000 students from over 65 countries participating each year. Our teams competed in a range of academic events including:

• The Scholar’s Challenge: 120-question exam given to each individual competitor to complete within 60 minutes.
• Collaborative Writing: This event is based on arguments, with students picking one of six different prompts associated to each subsection of the given curriculum. Each participant on a team must pick a different prompt. Participants pick one side of a topic and write for, against, or about it critically. Any writing form is allowed. 
• Team Debate: Teams must argue for (affirmative) or against (negative) the topic. All topics are derived from the WSC curriculum.
• The Scholar’s Bowl: Team members work together to answer multiple-choice questions – with questions progressively getting harder throughout the quiz.

Our teams also participated in community-based events, providing them opportunities to socialise with students from other schools around the world. In addition to the competition, our students visited the Grand Palace and marvelled at the Emerald Buddha, the most revered Buddha image in Thailand. They also visited Wat Pho, home to a colossal reclining Buddha and a traditional massage school. The temple garden there contains a Bodhi tree grown from a cutting of an original tree in India under which the Lord Buddha sat while awaiting enlightenment. They also travelled to Ayutthaya and visited Bang Pa-In, the former Royal Summer Residence of King Rama V – and explored Ayutthaya Historical Park by tuk-tuk, visiting Wat Phra Sri Sanpetch, Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, Wat Chaiwatthanaram, and saw the head of Buddha trapped amidst the roots of a banyan tree at Wat Mahathat. Below is a video, prepared by our talented Marketing Team, showcasing highlights from our recent Bangkok Tour. 

Our World Scholars Global Team included: 

• Thomas Archibald
• Olive Keane
• Lily King
• Henry McGlue
• James Sommerfield
• Charlie Tegg
• Ms Roberts – Assisting Staff 
• Ms Farley – Tour Leader 

Our scholars’ exceptional performance in all categories of the World Scholar’s Cup has meant that all teams have qualified for the Tournament of Champions at Yale University. This is an incredible achievement, and we are extremely proud of our talented scholars. We are now preparing for our US tour. Our Tournament of Champions Teams will be departing in Week 14 of next term for New York, where they will stay for a few nights before travelling to New Haven, Connecticut. Whilst the competition will be held at Yale University, the students will also visit other Ivy League universities, including Harvard and MIT in Boston, Massachusetts. It is sure to be an enriching experience for all involved.

Magis Academic Challenge Cup

Our final Magis Academic Challenge for the 2026 season tested student knowledge of music theory, classical music, musicals, retro music and current hits. This was our seventh Academic House Challenge this year. Other challenges included Theology; Spelling; STEM; Humanities, Languages, Literature, and Art; as well as our Chess Tournament and Public Speaking Competition. Students have received valuable House points for participating, and points for place positions. These points go towards awarding not only the Magis Academic Shield, for the highest-achieving House, but also the overall College House Shield. We commend all students who took part in the various Magis Challenges this year and look forward to recognising the top performing students, as well as the overall House winner, at our Magis Awards Breakfast next term.

Magis Community Mass

This morning’s Community Mass was prepared by Magis students – and it was a wonderful way for us to come together in celebration and support of our Gifted and Talented Program.  Many thanks to Ms Lumley and our students who assisted in the beautiful liturgy, and to the staff, students and parents who attended. It was a lovely way to finish a very busy term.

Save the date

Our annual Magis Awards Breakfast will be held Wednesday 28 October (Week 13) at 7:30am in the Thomas More Exhibition Centre (TMEC). This provides us with a wonderful opportunity to recognise our Magis graduating Class of 2026, as well as celebrate the success of our students across the Magis Elective Course and within Magis Co-Curricular.

You can keep up to date with our schedule of competitions and events by viewing the Magis calendar, which you can access below.  

Daisy Farley

Head of Magis – Gifted and Talented

Magis: Opportunities to do more!

Note: All expressions of interest should be sent to the Magis Assistant: magis@johnxxiii.edu.au

Curtin Rising Scholar Program

Attention current Years 9 to 11 students: Curtin University is pleased to invite schools to nominate gifted and talented Years 10 to 12 students for the Rising Scholar Program (RSP) in Semester 1, 2027. This program offers high-achieving students the chance to get a head start on their university journey by completing Curtin University units while completing their high school studies.

Program Overview:

• High-ability Years 10, 11 and 12 students are invited to enrol in one Curtin University unit per semester (up to four units in total)
• Participants can choose to study either on campus or online (course dependent) 
• An A-grade average is required for all students and all units. This is assessed against their MESH subject results (Maths, English, Science and HASS). 
• The Health Science Faculty requires all Health Science students to be 16 years or older as of 15 February 2027. We apologise for any inconvenience—unfortunately, no exceptions can be made.
• All places are fully sponsored with no fees payable. Though it should be noted, due to the program’s competitive nature, we strongly advise early applications.

For further information about this outstanding learning opportunity, including unit offerings, application guide, information PowerPoint, etc., please see Magis Teams, and/or speak with the Head of Magis and/or the Head of Pathways and Transition.