house public speaking competition round 3

This lunchtime saw round 3 of our House Public Speaking competition in the Conference Room.

Today, it was Mersey's and Park's turn to go up against Oak, and all involved impressed judges Mrs Wall, Mrs Derby and Year 13 Abi, along with the audience, who certainly did not shy away from challenging the competitors with an array of well-thought-out questions!

Up first and representing Mersey and Park were speaker Kirishika, chair Kiara, and questioner Kelvin, who debated whether the negative side of fame outweighs its advantages:

Following Kiara's deft lead, Kirishika spoke in detail about the downside of fame, the lack of anonymity, and the pressure of unrelenting public scrutiny when trying to have some existence outside the spotlight; while also acknowledging the many advantages, not the least fiscal, that it can bring. Questioner Kelvin then opened up the floor to questions after some challenging points of his own.

This prompted a great many probing queries from the judges and audience alike, questioning Kirishika as to whether celebrities, in choosing to pursue this life and reaping its benefits, should just accept the invasive pitfalls as part of the deal; and whether the positives and negatives of the double-edged sword of the dependence on the oxygen of publicity actually balanced each other out.

The team dealt with the grilling well, and Kirishika argued her case admirably, and in detail.

Team 2: Oak, represented by chair Ayah, speaker Grace and questioner Mariyah, then took the stand, deliberating on whether there should be a super tax on air travel:

After a confident and composed introduction from Ayah, Grace spoke in detail and at length about introducing a super tax on aviation in order to benefit the planet, and speculated on the cost to the environment if no action was taken. Questioner Mariyah then challenged Grace to give more examples of sustainable solutions.

Grace's speech stimulated an extended round of questioning, which she fielded with intellect and aplomb, completely unabashed by the lengthy quizzing.

The judges then delivered their feedback, starting with Team 2 and Mrs Wall's verdict. The head was full of praise for chair Ayah and her warm start, and the way that she prompted the audience to really start thinking about the debate in hand. Speaker Grace was congratulated on the way that her speech sparked so much interest from the audience, and on her brilliant handling of the prolonged bout of questioning.

Mrs Wall was equally impressed with Team 1's performance, not least Kelvin's astute style of questioning.

Year 13 judge Abi was impressed by the way that the chairs of both teams really brought the audience in with an easy, relatable, yet intelligent manner; and she liked their use of analogy, of colloquial language, and of a style that she praised as politely informal, and that made the audience feel comfortable in the arena.

Abi also encouraged and advised both teams to get more involved in debating and in the UGS Debating Society moving forward, as she had been so impressed by their performance.

Mrs Derby was in full agreement, and congratulated both teams on working incredibly well together.

Really well done all, we are super proud of you, and we really look forward to the next round in the New Year.

With thanks to our brilliant public speakers for show-casing their skills, to Mrs Derby for organising this ongoing opportunity, to Mrs Wall and Abi for giving their time to the judging panel, and to the many students who participated in the audience.