Year 11 students win 2nd place in nationwide English speaking competition

Congratulations to Year 11 students Maxwell Duncan, Izzy Marston and Florence McGrath who achieved a fantastic result in the English Speaking Union's UK Public Speaking Competition, which was held at Churchill College, University of Cambridge on Saturday 22nd April. Participating in the largest public speaking competition in the country for Key Stage 3 and 4 students, the team won 2^nd place out of the 400 teams who originally entered.

Each team consisted of three students - a Chairman, a Questioner and a Speaker, with each role demanding different but complementary skills. During each round of the competition, the Chairman and Questioner from one school were randomly selected to present with the Speaker from another school. The speaker talked on a pre-agreed topic for a maximum of five minutes. Our year 11 winners chose to speak about the Winston Churchill quote “We make a living by what we get, yet we make a life by what we give”.

During their allocated time, each team had to articulate their argument and demonstrate a wide knowledge of their subject. The questioner then took over, challenging the speaker on points within their speech or seeking clarification or further details. The chairman's role was to open and close proceedings, introduce their team, manage questions from both the questioner and the audience, and keep things running to time.

Particular congratulations go to Maxwell, who was awarded 'Best Personality' and Florence who won the 'Best Questioner' award.

Well done to all team members on this tremendous success, and thanks to Head of English, Mr Land, who supported the students through each stage of the competition.

Please follow link below to find more information about this competition:

http://www.esu.org/