Public Speaking Winners

Every student in Years 7 to 10 takes on the challenge of participating in our annual Public Speaking Competition.

As one Year 9 student put it in her wonderful speech about the fear of public speaking, the stresses it brings simply are the reality of English lessons during the final half term. The preliminary round of the competition occurs in English lessons, during which every student in Years 7 to 10 plan, research, write and deliver a speech. The criteria for assessment include content and structure, use of language, poise and presence, use of voice and extemporaneous response to questions.

Finalists are then chosen from each class to speak before their entire year group in the theatre. As always, speech topics ranged from the serious to the wonderfully absurd, representative of the diverse range of passions and temperaments that fill the classrooms and corridors of South Hampstead. This event is a perennial source of pride for the English Department and a true testament to the school’s culture of curiosity, confidence and conversation.

Congratulations to all students for taking on the challenge of public speaking with such skill. Accolades go to all the year group finalists and the winners of each category:

• Year 7 Winner: Marina, ‘Why Communism Fails as a Political and Economic System’
• Year 7 Runners-Up: Ula, ‘Is There Life in Space?’ and Alina, ‘What Does Neurology Have Do With Procrastination?’
• Year 8 Winner: Ada, ‘Spill the Tea’
• Year 8 Runners-Up: Antonia, ‘Should We Colonise Mars?’ and Noor, ‘Sustainability Development Goals’
• Year 9 Winner: Molly, ‘The Girl Boss Problem’
• Year 9 Runners-Up: Eleanor, ‘Lockdown Changes’ and Camille, ‘Boris Johnson’
• Year 10 Joint Winners: Olivia, ‘The Potato’ and Amalie, ‘A Brief History of Oil Painting’
• Year 10 Runner-Up: Alexandra, ‘Handshakes’