Future Problem Solving is a program for high-potential students that provides an opportunity for creative thinking, effective time management and cooperative skills.
This year, three teams from Illawarra Christian School received an invitation to the national finals due to their qualifying submissions being deemed to be in the top 10 to 15% of submissions from around the country.
On October 18 and 19, these three teams headed to the
national finals held at Knox Grammar School
to compete against the best teams in the country.
On the topic of nanotechnology, teams were presented with a future scene set in around 2045 outlining a scene whereby challenges are encountered due to the use of nanotechnology. In a 2-hour period, these teams of four:
- Read the scene,
- Identified and wrote up 16 challenges from multiple category perspectives,
- Identified an underlying problem,
- Developed 16 multifaceted solutions to that problem,
- Wrote their own criteria,
- Judged their solutions, and
- Wrote up an action plan based on the best solution.
A side competition, held just at nationals, is the action plan presentation , whereby the action plan developed in the booklet is transformed into a drama to perform in front of an audience.
This year, there were 35 Middle Division (Years 7 to 9) teams who were invited from across the country to complete at the finals. The academic booklet is highly challenging and the Middle Division is the biggest division at the competition.
We are incredibly delighted to announce that our middle division team consisting of Hannah Williams, Sarah Antony, Dakota Delfs and Rosalind Grice were announced as the 2025 Middle Division National Champions ! They have now received an invitation to the international conference held in the USA in June 2026. This is an absolutely outstanding achievement and we couldn't be prouder of our students.
In the action plan presentation competition, our Senior Division team placed second out of the 16 senior teams (Years 10-12) in their division at the national event. We were informed they were only one point away from placing first!
Their presentation was engaging, funny and entertaining and we are incredibly proud of them. The team consisted of Piper Story, Sree Nair, Abby Haines and Miriam Olmos, Abby Haines and Sree Nair .
Our third team was outstanding throughout the event. They worked together exceptionally well and represented Illawarra Christian School admirably. We are very proud of them. The team consisted of Emily Evans Gildea, Isabel Carroll, Jasmine Davies and Olivia Arthur .
We are so proud of our teams and we are delighted to be able to provide opportunities for our high-potential students to develop their skills, have amazing experiences and increase in confidence by engaging in programs such as Future Problem Solving.
Mrs Simone Brown
Director of Teaching and Learning
