Photo - Safa,  Nora, Lily and Elena-Mia Hutchinson

By Mrs Yeomans (Acting Head of English)

Speaking in front of large groups can often seem daunting, yet it is a skill which so many successful adults have to master in their working lives.  As a young person, this fear can often be polarised in front of your peer group and once the fear sets it, you freeze.  At BGS, we know how important it is to give our students the experience to master this skill.

This years' competition was the culmination of weeks of hard work for the students who all wrote and delivered a speech on a topic of their choice to their English class.  The two most accomplished of these entered into a year group competition in the Assembly Hall, performed in front of the entire Year 9 and ably judged by Mrs Jenkin (Biology Teacher) and Mr Keating-Roberts (Director of Music).

The ability of the girl's rhetoric was notable, with speeches which were wide ranging and varied, encompassing topics such as: veganism; the power of introverts and whether digital books will supersede print based books.  However, what really struck me was the progress and maturity of the student body as a whole. Listening to others speak for an hour can be challenging too!

Our winners may not have been the loudest or most confident of the year group and yet they rose to the challenge set before them, creating thought-provoking speeches, delivered in an engaging manner and with audience rapport.  They are:

1st place Safa Akbur

2nd place Nora Nihad

3rd place Lily Willard

Highly Commended Elena-Mia Hutchinson

These young people are the change-makers of the future; I look forward to seeing what they have to say on the important topics of our day as they approach their GCSE studies in September.