Tournament of Minds

Girton teams through to Tournament of Minds International Finals

Three teams from Girton Grammar School are excited to be heading to the Tournament of Minds International Finals later this month, after winning their divisions at the State Finals.

The winning teams were Primary STEM, Secondary STEM and Secondary Arts, with the Primary Literature team also achieving Honours.

Girton was proud to have six teams from its Junior and Senior Schools compete at state level on 10 September, working together to solve complex challenges across The Arts, Language Literature, Social Sciences and STEM.

As part of the Tournament, the students use entertaining skits to present their creative solutions to a spontaneous problem posed to them on the day of the competition.

Girton’s Deputy Head of Junior School and Tournament of Minds Coordinator, Mrs Viv Bath, says the school is thrilled with the result, which means that three of the eight teams representing Victoria in the International Finals will be from Girton Grammar.

According to Mrs Bath, Girton is well-known for its skills in Tournament of Minds and is one of the few schools that aims to enter a team in each of the eight divisions.

“When we compete, people come and speak to us about our program and want to know our secret,” she says.

“Our secret is great kids! I love seeing students work as a team to solve a problem, and seeing those in the younger year levels learn from the older students. Tournament of Minds is a thriving community within our school.”

Students in Years 4 to 10 can participate in Tournament of Minds as part of Girton’s co-curricular program – a core pillar of the School’s educational philosophy that gives students opportunities for personal growth through a broad range of activities in addition to the academic curriculum.

Having been involved with Tournament of Minds for over 25 years, Mrs Bath says it helps students develop important attributes such as teamwork, problem-solving and creative thinking.

The qualifying teams will now turn their attentions to preparing for the International Finals, which will involve many rounds of rehearsal, including practising spontaneous problems and completing three-hour lockdowns to simulate Tournament conditions.

The International Finals will take place in Melbourne on Saturday 21 October at La Trobe Bundoora, following an opening ceremony at the Melbourne Convention Centre.