On Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th January, we hosted the Rotary Youth Speaks Competitions in the Great Hall here at Howell’s School.
We submitted two teams of talented Year 10 students into the Senior Competition, who both presented interesting topics captivating audiences and judges alike.
Howell’s One was made up of Robyn D as chairperson, Alice B as the main speaker and Kate M, who gave the vote of thanks. Although some of the youngest competitors on the night, these girls were awarded a very well deserved second place. They were praised for their witty presentation on William Shakespeare: Hate Shakespeare? Why quote him?
Howell’s Two included Holly P and Lucy N, along with main speaker, Siani K. Together they argued for a change to current day education practices. While narrowly missing out on a place, they were complimented both on their speeches and their entertaining delivery.
In the Intermediate Competition, teams from around Cardiff competed to progress through to the regional round of the competition, delivering speeches on topical subjects such as homelessness and issues surrounding social media. The Howell's Year 9 team Jennifer E (Chairperson), Tabi H (Speaker) and Auvni P (Vote of Thanks) delivered their entertaining speech, Being Mindful about Mindfulness with sharp wit, drawing on their experiences of the .b mindfulness course delivered in the Senior School. Our Year 8 team Merna M (Chairperson), Ritija B (Speaker) and Aleezah K (Vote of Thanks) researched whether social media is killing our teenagers by promoting unrealistic expectations of the 'perfect' body.
The girls worked exceptionally hard to prepare their speeches and the English Department were very proud of both performances: Jennifer (Year 9) won the 'Best Chairperson' prize, and our Year 8 team will now progress to the next round of the competition this Monday 5th February, after winning 'Best Team' of the evening.
It was an enjoyable couple of days, enjoyed by all who attended, well done girls!
