On 17 November, RGS and Tormead prefects, house captains and marketing teams met for their annual Prefect’s Dinner. As a precursor to the dinner, members from both schools formed teams to prepare a debate, which was certainly intellectually stimulating. The debate motion, as agreed by both teams, was ‘This House believes that coeducational schools are a better learning environment’. This offered a twist on this highly relevant and apt topic, considering that our schools are both single sex and this presented lots of new perspectives. On the proposition were Ellie and Charlotte, Tormead’s Head Girls and on the Opposition were Dev and Joe, members of the senior prefect team at RGS. Louis, the Head Boy from RGS, chaired the event graciously.

There were some impressive arguments on both sides and great participation from the audience during the questions. It was great to see students from both schools challenging arguments outlined in the debate and the teamwork between students to give eloquent and sophisticated answers. Whilst the debate maintained an academic calibre, it garnered lots of laughs as well. The quote of the evening came from Joe, who justified his evidence with the iconic line: ‘Like Shakira, these statistics don’t lie’. However, when it came to the House vote, the Proposition won by an overwhelming majority. Overall, it worked very well as an icebreaker for dinner, sparking lots of discussion and brought out some friendly competition.

Lively conversations continued over dinner, which allowed the opportunity for students to cultivate links and acquaint themselves with new faces. The delicious food re-energised us after lots of talking and was thoroughly enjoyed by both students and teachers alike. The panna cotta dessert was our personal favourite! The enthusiasm and eagerness from both sides to increase connections between the two schools was much appreciated and without a doubt, we are looking forward to future events. We hope the evening will lead to stronger links, more coordination and unification on major events between our two schools.

Charlotte and Ellie – (Head Girls 2022)