On Tuesday 14th March students in year 12 gathered in the Theatre for the Model United Nations General Assembly. All students acted as delegates representing a particular country. This year the following countries were present: Mexico, North Korea, Finland, Iran, France, USA, China, Turkey, Russia, and Brazil.  

Leading up to the conference all the students were part of a small committee where they had to research and put forward a resolution based on a current issue within their country. All the resolutions were heard within the tutor groups and then one resolution from each country was put forward to be presented in the general assembly.

During the general assembly all those who presented began with a formal introduction addressing the room with ‘honourable chairs and fellow delegates’ and the preceded with their resolution. This comprised of the preambulatory clauses, where they identified the current issue and problems, then their operative clauses, which is the call for action and outlines how the issue should be solved or improved.   

Following the presentation of the resolution there was the opportunity to ask questions and then informal lobbying took place, where the students could discuss their decision within their country, and a messenger could approach other countries. All countries were then asked to vote either yes in favour of the resolution, no, or they could abstain. A resolution needed a majority vote to pass. 

The resolutions that passed came from:

• The Environmental Committee of Finland
• The Human Rights Committee of Iran
• The Economic and Finance Committee of USA
• The Education Committee of France
• The Environmental Committee of China

Here are quotes from a few students who were involved: 

"As someone who does not study or have an interest in any socio-political subjects, I found MUN to be a surprisingly fun experience which I feel will serve as a useful benchmark for future tasks and projects within my Sixth Form life. Being given the opportunity and encouragement to research my country's information so thoroughly made speaking on their behalf all the more engaging and enjoyable. My past passion for performing and presenting to a crowd was rekindled by the event, and it was equally gratifying to see the amount of effort and respect my peers approached the conference with as well."

"I found being a chair for Model United Nations very enjoyable because it allowed me to help organise an event covering issues I learn about and find interesting. "

"MUN is a great opportunity to develop not just your public speaking skills, but also social awareness. Making and hearing presentations on issues you might not be aware of really expands your understanding of the world and all its different cultures". 

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and say thank you to all the students for their engagement and taking on the role of a delegate for a particular country. In particular, I would like to congratulate and thank all those students that stood up and presented. There were some excellent resolutions and some strong presentation skills on display. Finally, I would like to thank Cameron Wilson and Thomas Cockayne for acting as the chairs and co-ordinating the conference. It was a fantastic event, with a lovely atmosphere that had been created. The students engaged well, and some interesting topics were debated. I hope all students have been able to gain a greater understanding of the United Nations and its work, the value of debate and collaboration, some of the global topical issues that were discussed, and have been able to focus on their own skills of debating and presenting.