The Other Half

DISCUSSION AND DEBATE Christian Life at Abingdon Christian Forum An opportunity for all year groups to explore the Christian faith through discussion, videos, guest speakers and Bible study, with games and food as an added incentive! We’ll be looking at questions like, How does Christianity relate to contemporary issues? Can science and faith go together? Why should we bother with an ancient book like the Bible? What difference does faith make in everyday life? Confirmation Preparation For most people, becoming a Christian is like a journey. The journey involves faith but also doubt, lots of questions and some surprising and wonderful answers. The journey is unique to each one of us and yet it works best when we share it with others. The confirmation class is an important part of the journey of faith. It is designed for those considering the possibility of becoming an adult member of the Anglican Church and leads to a memorable confirmation service. The course will consist of three components: What Christians believe, How Christians grow and Living the Christian Life. Food will be provided. Debating Society Allegedly Abingdon’s oldest non-sporting society, the Debating Society is the place to argue and form opinions about a variety of topics and motions. If you love an argument, or generally thrive on controversy, this is the society for you. We have debated everything from the serious politics of the Falklands and the National Health Service to rather more abstract ideas such as whether we should follow our dreams in life, via the thorny issues of organ donation and torturing terrorists. In the open debates on Friday, volunteer speakers put their views across in speeches before the debate gets opened up to the floor, when all the other people who have opinions get their say, and lively disagreement inevitably ensues. We also enter teams into a number of national competitions in debating and public speaking and run workshops to help you improve your debating skills. Throughout the year, we arrange popular dinner debates with girls’ schools for the senior members of the society. Within the Debating Society there are opportunities for sixth form students to meet in smaller groups to hold debates – and there is a workshop aimed at middle school pupils to help them develop debating and public speaking skills. For the Lower School, there is an opportunity for boys to hone their public speaking skills while debating topical issues. Joint debates with St Helen and St Katharine can be arranged over the course of the year. Law Society Law Society is for sixth form students who want to develop their understanding of the theory and practice of law. It is ideal for anyone considering a career in law or interested in the subject for its own sake. Our activities include discussions of the mechanics of the UK and US legal systems, mock trials and debates on jurisprudence and points of law. MFL Debating Debating in a foreign language is one of the highest skills and is not only useful for exams or university preparation but for life. As many of you know, it is also a lot of fun to think laterally and outdo your opponents. Abingdon teams have been extremely successful in external competitions in recent years and we aim to prepare you for at least one if not two competitions. Mindfulness Club Mindfulness Club provides a quiet and focused space for students to learn about, and try out, some of the practices of mindfulness. We learn about the principles behind mindfulness, try out focused meditation (using the “Headspace” website as our guide), and talk about how to apply the principles throughout the rest of the week. Boys have said it has helped improve their focus, and helps them recognise the joy in the every day. Model United Nations Through the Model United Nations Society we take delegations along to conferences throughout the year at other schools. At these we represent a country’s interest in debates. It’s an excellent way of building legal, political 8