Passionate speeches on important global topics such as ‘zero hunger’ and ‘gender equality’ were delivered by pupils aged six to 13 at Felsted Prep’s public speaking competition for World Speech Day 2023.
The speeches’ themes were drawn from the UN’s Global Goals and, in advance of writing and practising their own presentations, Felsted Prep pupils listened to an inspiring talk by former bodyguard to Nelson Mandela, Chris Lubbe, who explained the value of using their voices to make a difference.
The winners of the early rounds in the competition – one per year group – were pitted against each other in the final, with speeches also streamed live and watched by the whole of the Prep School. The panel of judges included the Head of the co-educational independent Felsted Prep, Mrs Miranda Norris, and Felsted Head, Mr Chris Townsend. Two guest judges joined them – Former Head of Felsted Prep, Mrs Jenny Burrett, and Head of Thorpe Hall School, Mr Stephen Duckett.
‘We were astounded by the quality of the speeches,’ commented Mrs Norris, ‘and particularly the very powerful calls to action.’
Krishna in Year 4 was eventually judged the overall winner for his ‘masterful performance’ on the topic of responsible production and consumption, according to the judges, who also commended him for his thorough knowledge and passion for his subject that was clear ‘not just in his words – his very body language spoke to the audience’.
Runner-up was named as Ocean in Year 8, who also spoke on responsible production and consumption and who the judges said took them ‘on a personal journey’. They praised his ability to really bring home the huge numbers of people affected, and ‘challenged us all’ to make every-day small changes to make a big difference.
During the day our audiences also heard from a Felsted Sixth Former giving a speech on neurodiversity, as well as an extract from Shakespeare from two LAMDA pupils during the judging. Pupils at Felsted develop their public speaking skills through regular drama lessons and opportunities to present to an audience in assemblies and at school events. Many pupils also take advantage of the offer to study for LAMDA qualifications, led by an experienced specialist teacher, learn more: www.felsted.org/lamda.
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