Pride in our Youth Speaks Team

Saturday, 1 March, saw the Truro School Prep Youth Speaks team travel to Tavistock, Devon, for the south-west finals of the 2025 Youth Speaks Competition. This event was part of the Tavistock Festival and took place alongside an intermediate and senior public speaking competition, three music competitions and cooking competitions.

The team of Tilda, Ellie and Hugo were the sole representatives from the county of Cornwall, and they pitted their skills against five Devonshire teams. With topics ranging from ‘Why is inflation and lack of employment a problem?’ through to ‘Would the world be a better place without parents?’, there was plenty of opportunity for education and entertainment, and the standard of public speaking and presentation was incredibly high.

With regard to the Truro Prep team, I could not have been more proud of them. Tilda chaired the presentation with poise and confidence. Ellie spoke passionately and engagingly on the topic of ‘The climate is changing – why aren’t we?’ before responding superbly to the toughest of questions: ‘What would you say to Donald Trump to convince him of your argument?’. Hugo responded intelligently to support Ellie’s argument, further answering the question and rounding things up with thanks to all concerned.

After a morning of action, the competitors and spectators were dispatched for two hours whilst the judges deliberated (this time providing the opportunity for lunch, ice creams and a little exploration of Tavistock and the western edge of Dartmoor).

Upon returning to the main hall for the prize-giving, we were disappointed to find that we had been pipped to the post by the hosts, Tavistock, who will go on to represent the south-west of England at Bristol in two weeks.

That said, the team received a raft of compliments for their performances – one of the judges commenting that he believed Ellie answered the Donald Trump question so eloquently that it was almost as if she had a seen the script and prepared her response in advance! Further good news came courtesy of awards for Tilda for the best chairperson and Hugo for the best vote of thanks.

Most importantly, the team members were kind, considerate and supportive of each other and the other teams throughout the day. It was a pleasure to spend the day in their company.

Finally, my thanks to all who participated, transported and supported throughout the event.

Report by Rob Morse, Head of Prep