Pingry’s Ethics Bowl Team won the regional tournament in the National High School Ethics Bowl (NHSEB) for the first time. This is the team’s first championship in school history, and it coincides with the 100th anniversary celebrations of Pingry’s Honor Code.

NHSEB promotes respectful, supportive, and rigorous discussion of ethics among thousands of high school students nationwide. Teams are given a set of 15 cases, each asking questions about various real-life ethical dilemmas.

Team member Sophie Schachter ’27 explains the match format: The judge reads the case aloud and then asks a question about the essential ethical dilemma it presents. Team A has a five-minute presentation to explain their argument. Team B responds with a three-minute rebuttal. Team A has a three-minute response, and then Team A has a 10-minute “judges’ questions” period when the judges can ask them anything about their argument. This process repeats for another case, but the roles are switched (Team B now presents first). The first round consists of three matches, and the top four teams then advance to the semifinals. From there, it’s a simple elimination.

In the five years since the Ethics Bowl Team began at Pingry, with Upper School English Teacher Dr. Barrett Ward as its advisor, student interest has increased to the point that the School now has two teams, varsity and JV. In 2024-25, the team advanced to the regional semifinals for the first time.

Pictured: Upper School English Teacher Dr. Barrett Ward, Ishaan Sinha ’27, Will Brisson ’26, Sophie Schachter ’27, Bridget Troy ’27, and Sarah Clevenger ’27


Contact: Greg Waxberg ’96, Assistant Director of Communications, Writer/Editor