Youth Speaks

Once again the Rotary Club of Whitby & District has staged its annual public-speaking competition for secondary pupils, Youth Speaks. Thanks must go to Caedmon College for hosting the event in their main hall at the Scoresby site. Three teams entered the contest, 2 from Caedmon and 1 from Fyling Hall, each debating a different topic chosen from a list. Their choices were the Treatment of women in today’s world, Self-regulation for the British press and This country’s status as a home for refugees.

It was immediately clear that the teams had researched their topics thoroughly as lots of factual information was produced in support of their arguments. The young speakers spoke confidently and clearly in all cases, making the judges’ decisions that much harder. Experienced adjudicators, Clair Stones and Janet Peake were in the chair and ended proceedings with some useful and supportive advice for the teams.

The winners were a team from Caedmon College calling themselves, “ Bella and the Brains” and made up of Bella Buckley, Summer Simpson and Skye Simpson-Jones. There was also an award, The Rotary Cup, for the individual best speaker, which went to Megan Fusco. However, a good performance was made by everyone taking part.

Mike Stones, organiser and Rotary President this year commented, “ It is a privilege to be part of such a competition which encourages young people to conquer their nerves about public-speaking and gives them the opportunity to debate an issue in front of an audience. As usual, they do themselves proud and gain in confidence and self-belief accordingly. Long may this continue!”

The Rotary Club will be running a similar competition in 2025 why not challenge your public speaking abilities and perform, persuade, and entertain the audience with your display of knowledge of a topic.
In teams of three, participants present arguments and points of discussion, before taking a question from the audience.
Participants can select a topic that is important to them, allowing them to delve deep into research, formulate ideas, and expand their knowledge.
Taking part helps build self-confidence and develop public speaking skills, including how to keep an audience engaged.
Entrants can take part in the Intermediate (ages 11-13) or Senior (14-17) categories (ages as of 31st August 2023).

2023-24-Youth-Speaks-Information-Pack-v1.1.pdf