For over 50 years the Rotary Club of Douglas has organised annual Public Speaking Competitions for teams from the Islands Primary and Senior schools and the performances at the recent 2017 events were as marvellous as ever.
The Junior competition saw eight Primary Schools competing against each other in the usual format of three pupils in each team. The subjects on which they chose to speak were wide-ranging and included Braille, Scrumdiddlyumptious Authors, Grass and, (topically), To Trump or Not To Trump. The standard was very high with the Adjudicators remarking that it was truly amazing that all the teams delivered such performances at such a young age. After much deliberation the winning team from Ballacottier Primary School was announced as the winner. The winning team consisted of Emma-Louise Taylor, Gabby Germishuys and Florence Leigh. Arbory School was second and Marown third.
The Senior competition saw teams from all the Islands High Schools competing together with King Williams College. The teams again chose an intriguing mix of subjects ranging from Lights! Camera! Action! The Importance of the Arts, Everybody Dies But Not Everyone Will Live, to The Key Stage 3 Grading System:Does it work? The high level of work and preparation was evident with all the teams and the large audience was superbly entertained by the performances delivered. However after all the marks had been collated by the Adjudicators the team which came out on top was from Ballakermeen High School who covered the subject of Generation Snowflake. The winning team members were Charlotte Peach, Rebecca Minay and Matthew Tait. The team from Queen Elizabeth II High School was second and third place went to Castle Rushen High School. There were also special prizes for individual performances awarded to Elena Hunter, Ealish Withington and Henry Davies.
Commenting on the two competitions which he helped to judge, Rotarian Howard Callow noted that every year it is thought that the standard of performances will never be bettered but every year they are. With talented and hard working young people like these in our communities, the future for the Isle of Man looks very bright, he concluded.
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