Cheltenham College – HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU

25 Apr 2016

The Upper College Society combined its most recent meeting on the topic of experience with a hilarious round of Have I Got News For You. The evening started with three fascinating papers. The first was by Emily Wilford (U6, W), who talked about Piero della Francesca’s The Baptism of Christ, emphasising the overlap between geometry and art in his work. Joshua Dowley (L6, L) presented a philosophy paper questioning whether God is real; this was particularly interesting because, as an atheist, he argued that God was, in fact, real. His focus on the mental/physical reality relation generated some excellent questions. The final paper by Alex Sickmueller (L6, Xt) discussed the creative genius of Beethoven and whether suffering was a necessary pathway to insight and artistic achievement. Mr McQuitty awarded Emily the prize for the best paper due to the intricate way in which she linked the two seemingly different subjects of geometry and art.

The Sixth Formers then moved on the topical news quiz in which Harry Ferris (U6, NH) chaired, while Tom Bond (U6, NH) and Ashley Yu (U6, W) fought a battle of wits against Harry Steel (U6, Xt) and Antonia Stuckey (U6, Q). Interesting news items such as the whale epidemic and Donald Trump were discussed with both insight and humour. Overall, it was a highly enjoyable evening and enjoyed by everyone who attended!

By Antonia Stuckey (U6, Q)