Junior Youth Speaks 2025

The Bridport Rotary Club has re-established the successful and popular Junior Youth Speaks competition. The Club has, for many years, organised the intermediate and senior Youth Speaks competitions with local teams reaching the national finals. 

The Junior Youth Speaks programme gives primary school children the opportunity to exercise their debating skills in front of a supportive audience.

The latest competition was held at the Burton Bradstock village hall when teams debated such diverse subjects as "The summer holidays are too long and should be shorter"; "Which cricket team is better - England or Australia?"; "What age should children have a mobile phone?" and "Who does the most to protect the rainforest?".

The adjudicators, who volunteered to judge the competition, were teachers from The Sir John Colfox Academy and they were impressed with the content and structure of the speeches. The competition with St Mary's CofE Primary school was extremely close but in the end the winners were the team from Burton Bradstock CofE primary school who talked about the length of the summer holidays.

All the children who took part received a certificate of participation and the winning team were given a winners certificate and a book token by the President of the Club Mr David Weston.

The Rotary club has already booked the Bridport Town Hall for the intermediate and senior competitions on 13th January 2026.