A group of Sixth Formers from Manchester High School for Girls (MHSG) beat stiff competition from over 400 students by winning the ‘Outstanding Delegation’ award at a Model United Nations (MUN) student conference.
Held at Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School in Hertfordshire last month, HABSMUN simulated a real United Nations meeting. Delegates from 32 schools represented different countries and debated pressing issues from youth mental health to cyber security.
Each Manchester High student also came away with an individual award, as Navya Sarwal from Prestwich explained: “I am really proud of our Outstanding Delegation award and how we performed as a team. I was also delighted to win a Best Delegate prize as I’ve been involved with Model United Nations for three years. I now understand so much more about why countries make certain policies, and my overall awareness of what is going on in the world has vastly improved.
“Without doubt, MUN has allowed me to explore the diversity of opinions that exist out there in the wider world.”
“I have been assigned to represent countries such as Iran on women’s rights issues and it’s easy to get frustrated when policies don’t always match your own personal opinion. MUN and the research that is required into each country’s background has, however, helped me realise that there are many different viewpoints to an argument.”
Alexandra Thacker, from Didsbury, added: “This was my final conference with MHSG and winning the top award, as well as a Highly Commended prize, is really the pinnacle of years of participation in this incredible extra-curricular activity.
“Without doubt, MUN has allowed me to explore the diversity of opinions that exist out there in the wider world. I hope to study European Social and Political Studies at UCL or Modern Foreign Languages at the University of Oxford, and I am confident that the valuable negotiation and communication skills I have learned through MUN will be hugely beneficial in my further study and beyond, as I intend to pursue a career in international relations. I am indebted to MUN in helping me become the confident and enquiring person I am proud to be today.”
Jacinta Heydecker, MUN co-ordinator and History teacher at Manchester High School for Girls, said: “The team from Manchester High represented Japan at the conference and extolled all the fantastic skills that MUN develops. Passionate about the issues and self-reliant in their preparation, the team rose to every challenge thrown at them and richly deserved both their individual awards and their top prize.
