Head's Newsletter 17 March 2017

the way the country remembered those who sacrificed their lives in war. The jury of eminent historians commended Oscar for his thoughtful and well-argued speech. As the day went on, Oscar’s speech turned out to be one of many fascinating interpretations of the First World War’s impact, which reflects both the huge significance of the war and the talent possessed by the current generation of budding historians.

EUROPEAN YOUTH PARLIAMENT

On Friday 10 th March a team of eight Year 12 politics students took part in the regional round of the European Youth Parliament’s debating competition. They spent weeks prior to the competition preparing for the debates which ranged across topics as varied as how the EU should deal with the Trump administration, the creation of an EU sugar tax and the regulation of the EU arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The judging panel commended the team for its thorough research, teamwork and eloquence and put the boys through to represent the South- East region at the National Session in Liverpool in the summer. The team consisted of Sulaiman Amin, Andrew Conder, Aditya Deshpande, Ujjaval Dhingra, Oscar Duffy, Adam Fereday, Nathan Langford and Haaris Malik. GREAT DEBATE On Saturday 11 th March, Year 12 history student Oscar Duffy competed in the Grand Final of the Historical Association’s ‘Great Debate’ competition. This year the topic for discussion was ‘How has the First World War affected me and my community?’ and fittingly the final was held at the Imperial War Museum. Oscar was one of 20 finalists from across the UK, having won the Central London heat earlier this year. He was first to make his speech and focused on how the First World War marked a turning point in

MUFTI DAY

Our next Mufti day is Thursday 23 rd March. The school council were impressed and a little overwhelmed by the 76 detailed nominations for charities we might have supported. After reviewing them all they chose ‘The Little Things’ nominated by Kavanan Karunakaran in Year 10 who has family links with the charity. It is a relatively new charity, set up by Medical students, to raise funds to improve healthcare in developing countries. They have recently funded an eye clinic in Arusha, Tanzania, for the local population living with diseases which could be easily treated and a premature baby clinic at Kilinochchi District General Hospital, Sri Lanka, which now offers life-saving treatment options for babies that previously had none. Boys are allowed to attend school without uniform if they make a minimum £2 donation to this charity via their form tutor and we are confident this will have a significant impact on many lives.