Youth Speaks

‘Homework. Is it a waste of time?’

In these constantly changing times, nothing is certain, yet we had kept our fingers crossed that the 2021 Youth Speaks competition would still go ahead.

By January 2021, it become apparent that the usual format for this public speaking competition would need to be drastically changed to a COVID safe system of video entries from all schools. As there would be no audience, the roles of the team also needed to adapt – no questioner, therefore no question. In theory, this should have made things so much easier…

It wasn’t until we started recording the different elements of the speech, last Thursday, that it occurred to me that not having the interaction of a live audience could be tricky. Without an audience, we felt their absence. Something was definitely missing. Usually, they provide a purpose for the speech. We missed their questions, support and encouragement and the joy of their spontaneous laughter.

Despite these challenges, you will therefore appreciate how brilliantly our team worked together to defy a silent, empty room. Yes, our brave team faced a silent recording camera and we are so very proud of their incredible efforts. Pretty impressive, particularly since it was their first public speaking event.

Ayesha (Chair), Toby (Speaker) and Nova (Vote of thanks) all performed with real confidence in front of the camera. Their topic was ‘Homework. Is it a waste of time?’

The video entry has now been submitted to the Rotary Competition. We look forward to their feedback, in due course.

Mrs Luxton