Few places see a more diverse range of topics discussed than the Rotary Youth Speaks national final, which took place in this month in Telford.
Teams of young people from right across the country covered everything from social media and the future of self-driving cars to the dangers of stereotyping and the role of the monarchy in the 21st century.
Split into two categories, Intermediate for 11 to 13 year olds and Senior for entrants aged 14 to 17, teams are made up of three contestants, a Chairperson, a Speaker and a Vote of Thanks who are tasked with speaking on their chosen topic and answering unseen questions.
This year’s Intermediate winners were Humzah, Scarlett and Eva from St Aloysius’ College, who were sponsored by Glasgow Rotary Club.
It was a local team who took home the top prize in the Senior category, with Matthew, Sebastian and Adelina from Oswestry School, sponsored by Oswestry Rotary Club, discussing ‘Downs Syndrome: To Be Or Not To Be?’.
What made the team’s victory all the more impressive was that Adelina, who moved to the UK in September, is still learning English, as her teacher and Oswestry School’s Head of English Ruth Huish explained, “I am extremely proud of the whole team and in particular Adelina who is still learning English. I am incredibly proud that she was able to tackle the topic with such spontaneity.”
The competition, sponsored by Stretch Development, included judges from the Professional Speaking Association, training and sales specialists and an author.
One of those judges, David Nurse, was impressed with the standard of the public speaking, “It is a talent few people have got and the standard was so high that any one of the teams could have been the best in the country.”
Prizes were presented by The Mayor of Telford and Wrekin, Councillor Rae Evans and Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland President Eve Conway, pictured above with the winners from Oswestry School.
Eve commented, “Rotary does so much in our communities including helping young people to develop their skills because we believe that they are the future. Youth Speaks is one of our jewels in the crown in the youth area.”
Thousands of young people get involved and unlock their potential through Rotary youth competitions every year, taking part in club, district and regional heats. Find out more about the competitions or contact your local Rotary club to get involved in 2017/18.
Full results are outlined below:
Intermediate category
1st place team: St Aloysius’ College, sponsored by Glasgow Rotary Club
2nd place team: Rydal Penrhos School, sponsored by Colwyn Bay Rotary Club
3rd place team: Wycombe Abbey School, sponsored by High Wycombe
Senior category
1st place team: Oswestry School, sponsored by Oswestry Rotary Club
2nd place team: The Gryphon School, sponsored by Sherborn Rotary Club
3rd place team: Chigwell School, sponsored by Redbridge Rotary Club
Published: Friday 12th May 2017
