Eleven of Westminster’s Sixth Formers made up two delegations at the LOSMUN conference in November, where they took part in several debates over the course of a day. In the educational simulation of the United Nations, Westminster’s delegations were assigned the nations of India and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Westminster’s India delegation won the overall title of Best Delegation and the group secured multiple individual category titles too.

During the event, hosted by the London Oratory School in Fulham, pupils played the role of international delegates and attempted to solve real-world issues with the policies and perspectives of their assigned country. Every country nominated one pupil representative to stand on each of the UN committees, which included the Security Council, the Human Rights Committee, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. As the conference came to an close, participants were surprised with the announcement of an emergency general assembly on Venezuela; Westminster’s DPRK delegation was voted Best in General Assembly for their contribution to the debate.

A solid combination of commitment and teamwork contributed to Westminster’s overall success at the conference. Over the course of the year, pupils have dedicated a great deal of their spare time to prepare themselves, attending MUN Society every Monday lunch and regular House MUN events after School.

India delegation representative, Benjamin (Sixth Form, PP) said: “It was a great honour to represent the two “greats” at the same time – Westminster School and the Republic of India!

“LOSMUN was my first ever MUN conference, so the learning curve was pretty much vertical! The key takeaway was that successful speeches are formed through a combination of a little background knowledge, and a lot of quick thinking. “

DPRK delegation representative, Alice (Sixth Form, MM) added “Being new to MUN, having only participated in House MUN earlier this year and a few society meetings prior, LOSMUN was an exciting opportunity to develop my skills in action, learning from peers across London and the UK.

“Representing the DPRK encouraged me to view global events and issues from a different perspective, and as always it was interesting to research and consider current affair topics in more depth for the debates. It was extremely rewarding to see our clause being among the few that passed in the general assembly and to be awarded Best Delegation at General Assembly thanks to our teamwork, contributing to Westminster’s overall success.”