Introduction

Royal Russell School has been active in organising and participating in Model United Nations meetings for 30 years. A Model United Nations meeting is more about developing communication skills than it is about the United Nations as an organisation. Although the UN forms the basic framework, MUN gives students the opportunity to talk to, listen to and sometimes persuade people from other schools to accept their views. Students take part in debating and public speaking and develop leadership skills.

The great thing about MUN meetings is that they are run totally by students. Meetings are chaired by students; conference decisions are made by the Secretary General, Presidents and Vice-Presidents - all students; the security guards are students and the secretarial staff are students.

Royal Russell MUN

Royal Russell School hosts an MUN conference for four days every October during the autumn half-term holiday with:

• 500 students from UK & around the world
• Over 100 RRS students taking part
• 100 countries represented
• Opening speeches from each delegation
• 8 committees debating for 2 days
• General Assembly Meetings of 400 delegates chaired by RRS students

Royal Russell Students

As well as attending our own conference, Royal Russell students also take part in a number of other conferences each year. Last year students attended conferences at Reigate, Lady Eleanor Holles, City of London, Haberdashers' Aske's, The Hague, Dublin and Haileybury School. Our students have developed a reputation as some of the best and most constructive delegates in the country. Many of them have won both individual and team awards over the years at different conferences. To prepare for the conferences students meet voluntarily every Monday after school to practise debating and to research topics. All students in Year 10 upwards are welcome, with Year 9 students having an opportunity to learn about MUN in the summer term.

The highlight of the MUN year is attendance at the week-long annual conference in The Hague attended by over 3,000 students. Students have had the opportunity to watch Slobodan Milosevic defend himself at the UN war crimes tribunal and to hear Kofi Annan, the former UN General Secretary and Nobel Peace Prize-winner, make a brilliant speech to close the conference.