Students at Bloxham School have been busy with public speaking and debating recently.
Last Friday, four Sixth Form students took part in the Cherwell Democracy Challenge, hosted by Victoria Prentis MP. Carolina H, Cecily P, Hannah L and Hannah P competed against other local schools, debating challenging questions such as whether gender equality is achievable.
On Wednesday, we welcomed the Banbury, Cherwell and Chipping Norton Rotary Clubs to our Chapel for their annual Youth Speaks competition for schools. Bloxham entered two teams, with third form students, Joseph B, Holly B and Josie G, speaking eloquently on the difficult subject of teenage depression, and our senior team, Hannah P, Izzy Z and Millie W (who courageously stood in at the last minute), giving an entertaining discourse on the power of music. Happily, Bloxham won the junior competition and will be going forward to the district finals early next year.
On Saturday and Sunday, seven students attended the Model United Nations conference at Tudor Hall, representing Myanmar and the UK. Students debated such issues as genetic modification in humans, censorship, and youth unemployment in committees and then faced a crisis in the General Assembly as a terrorist organisation threatened to wipe out religious worship in the world. Bloxham’s UK delegation was highly commended, as were delegates Murray D and Toby B.