Thursday 17 May saw the inaugural junior public speaking competition in the Grignon Hall. We had 15 speakers of extraordinary talent, declaiming on topics such as gun laws, drugs in sport and the power of silence.

Students from years 9-11 bravely took the floor for four minutes to persuade and entertain their audience. Rules had been removed and they had total freedom on genre and topic. What ensued was an auditory marvel as these students moved their audience to pity, laughter and even outrage. The judges, comprising Mrs Predebon, Dr Alsop and Mrs Carrington (Governor) had an extremely hard task deciding the winners, because all speakers delivered their speeches with poise well beyond their years. It was hard to believe that these students were only in years 9-11.

Third place was shared between Titus Zangemeister, who mesmerised us with his musical opening, and Phoebe Milton-Hughes, who delivered a highly articulate and persuasive speech on feminism. Second place was awarded to Charlotte Perry for her subtly humorous and very clever speech on learning a second language. The overall winner was Kit Morley-Jacob, who performed a stand-up comedy routine based on awkward situations. Marks were added together and the overall house winner was Stocks’s (team comprising Charlotte Perry and Lydia Townsend).
 
This evening was a real joy to watch as we saw students passionately speaking on a range of subjects. I cannot wait to see where these students go in their future careers!