Schools Public Speaking Showcase

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


Cirencester Rotary Club was once again very pleased to sponsor this year's Public Speaking Programme at three local secondary schools, designed to develop the public speaking skills and self-confidence of our young people. 

Kingshill, Deer Park and Farmors Schools each ran internal competitions within Years 8, 9, and 10, from which a number were selected to go through to the respective school’s final – each of which was attended and judged by Rotary Club members. The standard of presentation was exceptional and the Rotarian judges were very impressed by the diverse content, quality and confidence of all the speakers involved.

The winning subjects and speakers were: 

·      Kingshill School: Year 8 “Short Hair Don’t Care” by Evelyn Dyson; Year 9 “Female Empowerment” by Phoebe Matthews; Year 10 “When I Grow Up” by Jonnie Gibson. 

·      Deer Park School: Year 8 “Warmth of Wrath!” by Tamsin Hatton; Year 9 “Stereotyping” by Jaden Chandanam; Year 10 “Why Communism Conflicts with Human Nature” by Molly Missenden. 

·      Farmors School: Year 8 “The Ivory Trade” by Hollie Noyce; Year 9 “Pressure in Modern Society” by Caitlin Goodman; Year 10 “Why You Should Be Wary of Pigeons” by Harrison Darley.  

Local Rotarian Chris Rowbotham said, “This annual competition is a great opportunity to help develop the verbal presentation skills of so many of our young people. Our warmest congratulations go to all the finalists." 

Within 2 weeks of the individual school finals, all nine prize-winners repeated their speeches at a packed Rotary Showcase evening at the Royal Agricultural University, with family members and teachers also present. Certificates and prizes were presented by Rotary Vice President Mark Wilton. 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 ‘ear and eye catching’ speech, and this year it went to Phoebe Matthews from Kingshill School for her speech entitled “Female Empowerment”. As Chris Rowbotham explained, “It was a very close-run thing with so many excellent presentations to choose from; but Phoebe’s subject and audience-engaging delivery were particularly memorable and she thoroughly deserved this award.”   

To access all photographs from the event - Click on the following link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lu9TlJNerHJuL0jEnY4dpjiQjtJVhDEi

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