On January 26th, Runnymede celebrated its Founder’s Day, paying tribute to Mr Arthur Powell OBE and his wife Julia, who founded the school in 1967. The Founder’s Debate is held annually in the spirit of freedom of expression and healthy discussion.

This year’s was a ‘balloon debate’ in which 5 speakers chose a significant figure to portray. The 5 figures are on a rapidly descending hot air balloon, which can stay afloat if only one passenger remains. Each person must argue why their figure should remain.

The candidates for this debate were Robert Oppenheimer represented by Alec (Y12), Walt Disney by Sol (Y12), Nelson Mandela by Ramon (Y12), Emmeline Pankhurst by Micaela (Y13) and Joseph Biden by Samuel (Y13).The discourse ranged from the importance of the atomic bomb to the influence of Disney movies on children’s morality. By the end of the debate, Nelson Mandela defeated the rest with his arguments outlining the horrors of Apartheid and how instrumental he was in defeating it.