On Tuesday, our Junior Public Speakers travelled to Towers School in Ashford to compete in the Rotary Club Youth Speaks debating competition. Public speaking and debating are becoming increasingly popular, particularly amongst our Junior pupils. 

Read an account of the trip below from Miss Manning, Head of Public Speaking:  

“We had two teams competing in the Intermediate section for 11 to 13 year olds and they were up against teams from Benenden School, the High Weald Academy and the John Wallis Academy.

The First Form was represented by Simone Rai (Chairperson), Grace Williams (Proposer) and Angus Brown (Opposer). Simone introduced the topic and her team members. Grace argued that in the year 2020, it is finally time for professional sportswomen to achieve the same level of earnings as sportsmen. Angus had the more difficult job of opposing this motion, but put forward some interesting and valid arguments, using examples from tennis. Overall, they did a great job.

The Second Form team, made up of Elyse Ratcliffe (Chairperson), James Lloyd-Jones (Proposer) and Daisy Dallamore (Opposer) discussed whether more of us should become vegetarian. Elyse made an excellent start, asking the audience a series of questions about vegetarian food. James explained why we all need to become vegetarian, or at least reduce our consumption of meat. Daisy then opposed the motion and explained the reasons why a balanced diet is the best approach. All team members were excellent at engaging the audience with the topic, but I particularly liked Daisy’s argument about not wanting to give up her roast dinner on a Sunday!

At the end of the evening, we were all delighted to learn that Elyse, James and Daisy won the Intermediate group; they will now represent the district in the regional finals in March. Thank you to the parents and Mrs Head who came to support on the night and a huge thank you to the Juniors for taking part and for giving up so many break and lunch times in preparation for the competition. As well as winning the trophy, the Second Form team each won a £20 Amazon voucher.”