The competition aims to offer young people:
For over 30 years The Rotary Club of Andover has organised a Youth Speaks Competition in Andover to allow young people from the local schools and college the opportunity to develop and demonstrate their public speaking skills.
The Competition is split into two sections:The order of speaking is decided by drawing lots.
Marks are awarded for the team performance, including its appearance and observation of the formalities and rules of debating. The roles of the chairperson, main speaker and proposer of the vote of thanks are also awarded marks.
Penalty points are however deducted for either under-running or over-running the allotted time in each section.
Competitors are encouraged to select their own topic for presentation and to research and rehearse it thoroughly before the presentation evening which is held in front of an audience of up to 270 people in the Cricklade Theatre.
Harrow Way hosted the Rotary Club of Andover’s Youth Speaks competition on Monday 28th January. Although only four teams were entered from two schools, Harrow Way and Rookwood, the teams were very professional and put their subjects across well making the judging a difficult task.
There was only one team entered in the intermediate round, which was from Rookwood. They discussed the topic of ‘www.techteens.co.uk’ which expressed their concerns on how teenagers rely on the internet.
In the senior competition, Harrow Way team 1 discussed the subject ‘The Influence of the Media’ - how celebrities are under intense scrutiny from the media and how the media are portraying how people should live, from what they eat to how they look. Harrow Way team 2 chose to discuss ‘Bullying’. The team had a strong passion for this subject and put their personal feelings across well. The final senior team, Rookwood, proposed the subject ‘Thieves of Childhood’ how modern day children are not benefiting from an active and sociable childhood.
The winning team of the Senior section was Rookwood, the individual Chair and Proposer prizes were won by Coraleigh Saunders-Walker and Amber Broadhead. The individual prize for best Speaker went to Harrow Way Team 2’s Laura Shears.
Results article courtesy of Harrow Way Community School Web Site
The National Final of the Youth Speaks competitionOn Sunday 27th April 2008.
The overall Master of Ceremonies was Huw Edwards, the BBC Newscaster; he was extremely impressed with the overall standard, and quite charming in his praise for Rotary. Cherie Blair was the Senior’s Adjudicator, and Tom Frost, former Chief Executive of National Westminster Bank, the Intermediate Adjudicator.
The Senior Winners were St Aloysius College from Glasgow.
The Intermediate’s Section was won by The Bulmershe School, Reading.
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