On Friday the 4^th of April, years 10 and 12 students from HGS were pleased to host students from KE Aston and KEHG as well as our esteemed guest Lord Jeff Rooker. Please see below for a write up of the event from Sarujan Kasinthan (10G) and his thoughts on the visit.

On Friday, I was fortunate enough to attend the talk that Lord Jeff Rooker presented on the United Kingdom’s Democratic System. In this, he explained the role of Lords as well as other significant governing officials such as Bishops. After this, he elaborated on the structure of the parliament itself by explaining the various categories of people such as the Lord Speaker, House of Lords and the House of Commons with their respective duties.

After covering the fundamentals of the political system, he gave us a walkthrough of how to become a Lord for those who were interested in a career path such as his. His advice was to first get a job that has a meaningful impact on society, and he used an ‘army sergeant’ as an example as these types of professions are more likely to become Lords than normal jobs. This is because the Lords are often appointed for their entire lifetimes so applications must stand out to them if you want to have a chance however, they are more likely to be selected by the Lords Internally than compared to applying to be one. The main topic of the talk was arguably the epitome of being a Lord. SCRUTINY. Lords are meant to scrutinise government legislation and hold them to account. Jeff Rooker went through the different tiers of scrutiny and that this was perhaps the primary role of a Lord, and he also mentioned that they can make amendments to proposed laws or ‘bills’ as they were called.

When it came to the questions, on one of his proposals, he explained the case where he insisted that the government should add folic acid to flour to prevent neural defects in babies. This is because the main cause of this disorder was a lack of folate within the mother’s diet that prevented the neural tube from closing, and therefore permanent damage is inflicted upon the baby’s body. I could tell he was very compassionate towards the babies who were born disabled and had defects and somewhat provoked as he told us that the folic acid legislation had still not been implemented after 3 months of the consultation in which they had agreed to do it. In fact, in one of his interviews representing the House of Lords, he described it as being ‘criminal’ because it was like they had the cure but were not doing anything about it.

In conclusion, I believe that Lord Jeff Rooker’s talk was very intriguing because of the anecdotes and advice he gave us on that day, that had given me an insight of the role and purpose of being a Lord and what responsibilities it carried to its name. The campaigning, scrutiny and consideration is just some of many qualities a good Lord should possess. I am very grateful to be able to witness Lord Rooker’s Talk as up until this point I have only seen Lord’s debate on the news but on Friday I got to witness one in person. It has been a truly inspirational experience.

Between the 2^nd and 4^th April a total of 82 students headed to the Shropshire Hills for their practice expeditions, with 61 Year 9 students taking their Bronze Awards and 21 Year 10s involved with Silver.

Although cold at night, students were fortunate to experience some fantastic walking weather to enjoy the scenery of the Long Mynd, the Stiperstones and Carding Mill Valley.  They cooked hot meals for themselves at one (Bronze) or both (Silver) of the campsites, put up their own tents, navigated successfully (in most cases!) and carried all of their equipment and food for 2 (Bronze) or 3 (Silver) days.  Many were also responsible for organising their own train transport to and from Church Stretton train station.

The experience prepared the students well for their assessed expeditions which will take place in May.  Fingers are crossed that weather conditions are as favourable then.  The one group who were spotted enjoying ice cream in a local café will have to remember that such deviation from the rules would prove very costly in May!

Click here to view more photos in the gallery.

Serving as the economic representative for South Korea at the King Edward’s Model United Nations was an immensely rewarding experience. The conference allowed for participation in sophisticated debates on the economic crisis in Yemen, A major humanitarian crises that all too often is overlooked. Working and collaborating with delegates from other schools was both a challenging and rewarding experience that pushed me to consider the perspectives of other nations while maintaining the economic stance of Korea. One of the most rewarding of the conference was the insight it gave me into international affairs, political processes, and economic issues. Although I already had some prior knowledge of the economic crisis in Yemen, the detailed analysis presented in the discussions improved my understanding of the complex issues involved in foreign aid, economic sanctions, and global cooperation. Such discussions revealed the harsh challenges faced by millions around the world and highlighted the important impact of economic policy on the lives of others. As well as the academic aspect of the event, I also appreciated the collaborative elements of the experience. Negotiation, argumentation, and coalition building processes with fellow delegates was a thoroughly engaging experience that forced me to push out of my comfort zone and build on essential public speaking skills. Although at first, the idea of presenting my arguments in a clear and compelling way to an audience seemed daunting, the experience allowed me to greatly improve my confidence. Overall, the conference was both enlightening and intellectually stimulating, allowing me to develop a deeper understanding of international economics while providing a forum for interaction with fellow students who share a common interest in international relations.

Chet Dhami

I participated in Model United Nations as the delegate of South Korea in the SOCHUM committee, which focused on intolerance, discrimination. I collaborated with other delegates to draft a resolution that emphasized the protection of freedom of expression and the need to combat online hate. The experience enhanced my public speaking, critical thinking, and diplomatic negotiation skills, and provided valuable insight into international policy-making processes.

Alina Warraich