This term, for their timetabled Enrichment sessions (part of the LEaD programme), Year 12 have been working in House teams to research, prepare and rehearse a speech on a topic of their choice. Subjects ranged from the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence, issues surrounding the legalisation of drugs, the negative impacts of fast fashion and the influence of hip hop music as a genre. Supervised by staff but entirely planned by the students, Year 12 came together for their final Enrichment session to compete against each other in a public speaking competition.
Each team of three was given a total of 10 minutes to deliver their speech and answer questions from the floor while being judged by Mr Paget-Tomlinson and Mr McManus. The competition was fierce and the speeches were a triumph with the students all doing their Houses proud. Staff were impressed by students’ eloquence and sophisticated delivery, the structure of their speeches and the maturity with which they explored these challenging topics. However, after the judges had deliberated, and points had been deducted for time penalties, the results were in and there could be only one winner! In the end it was very close with only a few points separating the first and fourth places, but it was More house who secured the victory, being crowned the winning House for the second year running.
This competition is always a pleasure to organise, with the quality of the speeches, the thoroughness of the research and the intelligent questioning from the audience serving as a testament to the exceptional quality of the Year 12 students we have in our Sixth Form.
Matthew Ryan-East (Head of Sixth Form)