Morning Assembly was recently taken by the student delegates who attended this year's annual Round Square Conference at Gordonstoun.

Annabel Ashworth, Kirsty Canning, Josceline Cluff, Lara Mottier, Franziska Theiss, Katy Theobald and Laura Wagstaff travelled to Scotland on 7th October and obviously enjoyed the experience!

Here are some extracts from their lively and evocative presentation.

Every year, delegates from each of the member schools meet together at a conference which is hosted by a different school every year.  This year we were all fortunate enough to be chosen to participate in the annual conference, which was held at Gordonstoun in Scotland.

During the Conference we had the opportunity to listen to some inspirational speakers, who told their life stories and how they linked in with Kurt Hahn's motto 'Plus est en vous' ('There is more in you than you think!')

On the opening day of the Conference, we had the pleasure of listening to Jamie Andrew, who spoke about the loss of his best friend during a mountain climbing expedition.  Not only did he ose his closest companion, but due to severe frost ite, he also had his feet and hands amputated, making him completely dependent on others.  He said that there had been times when he wanted to give up, but he had realised that there was more in him than he first thought!  Jamie went on to climb several well-known mountains, learnt to ride a bike, went paragliding and even learnt to juggle, using his prosthetic hands.

We also had the privilege of listening to sports enthusiast, Kris Akabussi, who, with his charismatic speaking abilities, told us that it is not always winning in life that counts, but doing your best.  he told us that there will be times in our lives when we make mistakes and don't do as well as we had hoped, but that our past is for reference, not for residence!  If you believe in yourself, anything is possible!

One of Gordonstoun's biggest strengths is drama, so the Gordonstoun students organised an amazing performance of Macbeth for us.  This was an excellent and slightly different approach to the way Macbeth is usually performed, as there were a live band and singer on stage.

On another evening, the Gordonstoun students taught us Scottish dancing.  This was a great deal of fun and required lots of energy and balance.

The Conference ended with a social for all the delegates.  The evening started with a three-course meal, followed by a rock concert performed by a band from Gordonstoun, and the evening finished with a disco and fireworks.

All year groups can participate in a Round Square Conference, and the following have been arranged for the coming year:

Group 1   -   Box Hill School, Surrey

Group 2   -   Westfield School, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne

Group 3   -   L'Hermitage, Paris

Group 4   -   Cobham Hall, Kent

Group 6   -   Abbotsholme, Staffordshire