Christ the King College in Newport hosted its third Model United Nations Conference on Friday 10th February, with the focus this year being on the Refugee Crisis.
Christ the King College initially set up the model UN as part of its 2-year role as a Global Learning Programme (GLP) Expert Centre, led by SSAT GLP Lead Practitioner, Mrs Pauline Stirling. The benefits to all involved are huge and so it was decided to keep this transition event running.
Model UN gives young people opportunities to develop and practise skills identified as desirable for their future, for example, critical thinking, problem solving and emotional intelligence.
9 teams of Year 6 pupils from 6 Primary schools visited Christ the King College for the day including Carisbrooke Primary, Priory Junior, Nine Acres Primary, St Thomas of Canterbury Primary, Shalfleet Primary and Lanesend Primary.
In the run up to the event, teachers from each Primary school attended training sessions at Christ the King College. Each Primary school was assigned 1 nation per team (France, Germany, UK, Russia, Uganda, India, Switzerland, Turkey or Hungary) and took away an information pack which included facts about the country. Each participating class researched the country before and during the conference.
Meanwhile, 9 Sixth Form students from Christ the King College, who were to act as model UN Ambassadors, were also given the same information. Each team was assisted during the day by a Model UN Ambassador and a Year 10 GCSE Citizenship student.
On the day of the conference, Primary school students and their teachers were welcomed ahead of 3 opening speeches including 1 by Mr John McLaverty, guest speaker from Oxfam, who gave a very informative talk on the Refugee Crisis. There was a final short lesson on how to write a resolution in preparation for the afternoon session.
In the afternoon, each country presented their proposed resolutions to the other countries and a panel consisting of Year 8 students. The Year 8 students from Christ the King College summed up the resolutions and chose policies to be implemented. The Year 8 students complimented the Primary pupils on their listening and debating skills, and their understanding of the issues involved.
The day was brought to an end with thought-provoking speeches and prayers from the College’s Head Boy, Jacob Lewis and Head Girl, Olivia Garner.
