Congratulations to our MSJ debating teams, who gave a fantastic performance at the recent area final of the Year 9 to 11 English-Speaking Union Public Speaking Competition, held at Pershore High School. Jennifer Gallagher, Sophie Finch, Hermione Crump, Lucy Macaulay, Louise Hayes and Alice Ortmann represented the School with confidence and flair.
Teams had to host what was in effect a public meeting, in which the Chair and Questioner from one team have to host and interview the speaker from another team. Jennifer’s topic was single sex education, in which she evaluated the pros and cons from a number of angles but happily came down in favour! Her eloquence really impressed the judges and she was awarded the prestigious Best Speaker prize. Lucy’s topic was ‘Technology is ruining communication’ which gave rise to a witty speech on contemporary social mores.
Our second team, consisting of Lucy, Alice and Louise, were runners-up for the team prize, which was an excellent result for an area final. Alice, who was questioner for this team, deserves particular praise as she communicated with ease, despite the fact that English is her third language, after German and French!