Budding diplomats triumph in Model United Nations conference


Budding young RGS diplomats shone when they took part in a Model United Nations conference. LOLA MAYBANK reports

FOR the first time in school history, Ripon Grammar School students took part in Bootham School’s annual Model United Nations conference.

Ten students took on the daunting challenge of becoming diplomats for an evening of heated debates, up against representatives from Bootham School, Ampleforth College and The Mount, all acting as delegates for assigned countries.

RGS's Model UN chair Calum Gilhooley organised fellow upper sixth students Joe Alderson, Sophie Bean, and Scott Legg, as well as Lola Maybank, Rosie Menzer, Juliet Pearson, Katherine Thody, Emilia Sample, and Sydney Wild from lower sixth, who were assigned delegacy for French Republic, Bangladesh, and People’s Republic of China.

The theme of the event was Justice and Reconciliation, allowing each student to prepare a well-thought-out resolution to a matter under this theme in their country’s best interests, whilst additionally needing to be relevant to their chosen committees: Disarmament and International Security, Social Humanitarian and Cultural, Economic and Financial or Human Rights councils.

Despite being completely new to Model UN conferences, three students particularly excelled in their respective committees, with Joe Alderson and Scott Legg winning honourable mentions for their work on their respective committees, and Katherine Thody winning the best delegate of the Human Rights Council.

Calum, who also chaired the Economic and Financial committee, told how the RGS team rose to the challenge, overcoming a number of particularly difficult obstacles : “Not only did they have to undertake an amazingly thorough research process, but they were also bold enough to do public speaking while keeping track of tricky bureaucratic terminology.

“A performance fit to bring a joyful tear to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's eye - phenomenal!”

The only student chair selected from outside the host school, Bootham, he added: “I thought the conference was incredibly enjoyable and was really impressed by all our delegates - it was a performance more impressive than anything I could have imagined when I co-founded the MUN one year ago.”

All participants enjoyed the evening and look forward to similar future opportunities.