BBC presenter and host of Radio 4’s Today Programme, Justin Webb explains how Sidcot’s oldest and most prestigious student contest, the ‘Dymond Public Speaking Competition’ was the making of him.
Celebrating 100 years this summer, the Dymond Speech Competition is an annual contest, that was instituted in 1911 by a descendant of Henry Dymond, a pupil at the school from 1810-1815 and subsequently, Headmaster of Sidcot from 1854-1864. Henry Dymond was famed for his most impressive voice and the prize was originally called the Dymond Elocution Award. The Honour Board listing past winners of the competition hangs outside Sidcot’s Old Library and Justin Webb is the only person in its 100 year history to have won the competition 3 times.
Reminiscing of his student years at Sidcot, Justin says, “The day I won the Dymond [Speech Competition] for the first time was the day my life began. I had no inkling that I was good at anything – or if I did have an inkling I had no evidence to suggest it might be true. I worked hard but loved writing it: The Evils of Capitalism. Complete nonsense from beginning to end but wildly exciting to do — and to stand in front of an audience and to discover – wow – I really really liked doing it. It was me. I loved the applause and the pats on the back afterwards and I loved that my mum was proud. Not all speeches have gone as well since but a career began that day and I am so, so glad I had the opportunity to do it.”
For those less akin to the public eye, the Dymond Public Speaking Competition is a demanding event and one that judges students in six key areas; Subject Matter, Form and Style, Deportment, Diction, Audience Contact and Answers to Questions. Up to four students compete each year for this supreme Sidcot award and the ultimate prize of their names immortalised in Sidcot’s corridors. To mark this historic occasion on the 25 June, past contestants are congregating for a champagne reception alongside the portrait of the father of the competition, Henry Dymond, before joining the rest of the school for the main event.