Talented Year 5 pupils from eleven local prep schools took part in the annual Epsom College Prep Schools’ Public Speaking Competition on Thursday. The competition provided an opportunity for young pupils to get to grips with, and gain confidence in, public speaking.
Epsom L6th student, Cristina Thornton, a member of the College’s public speaking team, gave a short welcoming address to the visiting pupils, their parents and teachers on the benefits of public speaking and how she remembers being a year 5 pupil herself. Cristina then introduced the first team to the audience. Thereafter, pupils from each prep school spoke on a subject of their choice. Each team consisted of three speakers – the Chair, who introduced the topic, the Main Speaker, who spoke about the chosen subject in greater detail, and a Vote of Thanks speaker, who brought the team’s presentation to a conclusion. Topics this year ranged from the serious Zoos: conservation or cruelty? and Manners maketh the man, to the humorous Why my mother should not drive a 4×4. Following the delivery of some outstanding speeches, the judges, Head of Sixth Form, Nick Russell, and Modern Languages teacher, Carol Creevey, had the difficult task of choosing the winners. The judges praised the high standard of the competing schools and some individual outstanding performances and made particular reference to the confidence shown by the young speakers. The prize for the Best Chair went to Jack Scott from Northcote Lodge. The Best Main Speaker prize went to Isabella Egstrand from the Old Vicarage and the Best Vote of Thanks prize was awarded to Oliver Godkin from Lanesborough. The award for the Very Best Speaker of the evening went to Luke Weir from Rokeby. A Highly Commended prize for the Most Entertaining Talk of the Evening was awarded to Milbourne Lodge with their talk on Household chores should be banned for children. The cup for the Best Team was awarded to Greenfield School (Chair: Rutwik Meda; Main Speaker: Aishah Ahmed; and Vote of Thanks: Joss Beedie) for their talk on The science of cute. Participating schools this year were Lanesborough, Northcote Lodge, The Study Prep, Hazelwood, Twickenham Prep, Oakhyrst Grange, Greenfield School, Rokeby, Milbourne Lodge, Old Vicarage and Danes Hill.
