Youth Speaks 2026 - The District Finals

Youth Speaks- A debate, District Final 2026

Colfox Seniors win District Final

Budding speakers as young as 11 displayed their talents to an impressed audience and judges in the district final of the “Rotary Youth Speaks – A debate” competition held at Taunton School 28 th February 2026.

Ten teams of three – a chair, proposer and opposer provided an entertaining day of debate:

The senior team from The Sir John Colfox Academy of Bridport comprised Poppy Sweet, Iris Mold and Eliza Groves who put forward the motion “Space exploration is irresponsible” for which the judges awarded

FIRST PLACE!

So the team will now progress to the cluster final on 22nd March.

Perhaps when asked how they felt about winning, they would say “Well we are still in orbit at the moment but when we come back down to earth we’ll be looking for the right space to keep this trophy!”

The intermediate team from Sunninghill School in Dorchester had been prepared to argue both for and against the sport of “Game bird shooting”. But however, unfortunately the team decided not to pursue the competition at this time and were therefore not present.

The competition aims to provide young people the experience of researching and speaking on a public  platform as a member of a team about a topic or issue they care about, as well as the opportunity to gain experience and practice high standards of expression, presentation and appearance.

Pictures courtesy of Charlie Groves, proud parent, and Veronica Wilson.

Authors comment: “It is so inspiring to know that so many young speakers excelled in a competitive environment. It really is encouraging that competitions like this are running successfully, proving that Rotary is a real force in improving the futures of young people.

Phil Payne Bridport Rotary