Following last week’s workshop on public speaking, we welcomed back 30 local primary school children to compete in the fifth English Speaking Union Primary Schools’ Public Speaking Competition on the evening of Monday 13th March. Three students from each school formed a team comprised of a Chair, Speaker and Questioner and presented on a topic which had been given to them during the workshop. We were delighted to welcome Katherine Kettle, Jeanne Harvey and Marjorie Page from the English Speaking Union, who had the unenviable task of judging the competition, along with Lady Susan Inkin, the Vice Chair of the ESU who hosted the evening along with Vanessa Yilmaz (Howell’s Director of Development and Communications).
The winning team this year was from Whitchurch Primary School, who were faced with the tricky topic There should be a difference between hospital care on weekdays & weekends. In second place was Herbert Thompson Primary School who presented on: We should use more reusable energy, such as wind turbines and solar panels. Third place went to the team from Lakeside Primary School, who discussed the topic: We should ban cars in town centres. Congratulations to all the children who took part, who presented brilliantly and were a real credit to their schools. A very big thank you to the English Speaking Union for sponsoring the event and for judging the competition. Thank you very much to the parents, staff, friends and ESU members who came and supported what was a fantastic evening.