GRADE 8 STUDENT, AGATHA DE OCAMPO, BAGS THE 1ST PLACE AT THE WORLD SCHOLAR’S CUP 2023

With four contests in, Grade 8 student Agatha De Ocampo proved that a Malatean Spirit conquers victory, finishing as 1st runner-up in the junior division and advancing to the global round. Discover more of her experience as she represents Malate Catholic School. 

Written by: Adia Dizon Avendaño 

Layout by: Tiffany Ocampo

February 02, 2024 | 8:40 P.M.

Last November 24 - 25, 2023, multiple local and international schools competed in an academic contest held in Singapore School Manila where Agatha de Ocampo, Grade 8 student of Malate Catholic School, joined the World Scholar's Cup. 

The competition was composed of four events where all participants were required to join. The organizers released a different curriculum each year as it will be the basis for questions in the quiz bees, motions for team debates, and ground for prompts in collaborative writing.

In an interview, Agatha said that the spontaneous event she happened upon was something she would cherish forever. It all started when a friend from homeschooling before asked her if she was interested in forming a team. After looking for a third member, they started to join as an independent team coming from different schools. 

“I was really after the experience. Our team only had 5 weeks to prepare, while other schools had months. They also had coaches and my team didn’t,” De Ocampo stated. In spite of only having self-study and meeting face-to-face as a team twice, it was not an exception to prove how her fighting spirit aims for success. 

Agatha found the subjects very interesting and worthwhile to study. She, then, expresses her gratitude, “Seeing my name and school flashed on screen for the first time was very exciting because it was totally unexpected. My team was ecstatic when we ended up as 1st runner-up for the junior division.” 

Some of the schools who also joined are as follows: 

Singapore School Manila

Singapore School Cebu

Singapore School Green Campus

Southville International School 

Domuschola International School

Lyceum Batangas

Out of all that competed, it is with pride and honor that Agatha represented MCS well as she bagged the silver medal and qualified to the global round together with her teammates. 

Congratulations on your achievement, Agatha!