Young Speakers Competition

Cirencester Rotary Club was very pleased to sponsor this year's Public Speaking Competition at Kingshill School


Young People Speak Up

Cirencester Rotary Club was very pleased to sponsor this year's Public Speaking Competition at Kingshill School, designed to develop public speaking skills and self confidence of more than 500 young people in the school.

Following speaches by nearly every pupil in years 8, 9, and 10, a total of six from each year were selected by their classmates to go through to this year’s final. The standard of public speaking was exceptional and the three Rotarian judges were very impressed by the quality and authority of all the speakers.

Local Rotarian Chris Rowbotham said, “This annual competition is a great opportunity to help develop the presentation skills of so many young people. Our congratulations go to all 18 finalists and our thanks go to Kingshill School for the use of their facilities and to Assistant Head Trevor Lee for organising the competition within the school."

The winning subjects and speakers were:

·      Year 8: Winner – “Should we eat insects” by Jonnie Gibson; Runner-up – “The Suffragettes” by Jemima Spence;

·      Year 9: Winner – “Grammar schools” by Amelia Calvert; Runner-up – “Female appearance” by Maisie Aldridge;

·      Year 10: Winner – “Earthquake” by Georgia Lound; Runner-up – “Humans have a lot to answer for” by Lucy Coombes.

A week after the finals, all six prize-winners repeated their speeches at a packed Rotary meeting at the Royal Agricultural University. They were joined by a guest speaker James Terry from Farmor’s School. Their well-deserved prizes were presented by Rotary President Shaun Gibson. He said, “Their confidence and inventiveness in preparing and delivering their speeches was a credit to them as individuals and to their schools. Our Club is very proud to support this annual competition that helps so many young people develop their self confidence and communication skills through the experience of public speaking.”

In addition to the individual prizes, Rotary awards the annual Fred Perkin Cup for the most notable or memorable contribution and this year it went to Lily Oram from Year 10 for “How much I hate Public Speaking.” As Shaun Gibson explained, “Lily’s subject and delivery were particularly memorable and she thoroughly deserved this award.” 

Young Speakers Competition sub-pages:

We Listened to Our Youngsters – They Had So Much to Say!

more On Wednesday 5th July, Cirencester Rotary Club was once again very pleased to sponsor this year's Schools Public Speaking Showcase Event at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU)

Congratulations to the worthy Winners of the Schools Public Speaking Event

more Another successful Public Speaking Event held at the Cirencester Royal Agricultural University on Wednesday 6th July 2022

Schools Public Speaking Showcase

more Our Young People Make Their Voices Heard - Held at the RAU on Wed 17th July 2019

Young People Speak Up

more Cirencester Rotary was pleased to sponsor this year's Public Speaking Competition at 3 local schools. Listen to Corinium Radio's broadcast on link in report below.