New! Rotary Youth Speaks 2013

The 2013 Rotary Public Speaking competition, known as “Youth Speaks”, got under way on 30 January, with the local round of the annual competition, which was held in the Reading Room at Cranleigh School.

The entrants for the Intermediate Competition for ages 11 to 13 comprised one team from Cranleigh School and two teams from Glebelands School in Cranleigh. They were competing for a place in the semi-finals, which will held at Surrey University on 9 February.

The adjudicators were, Patricia Ellis, a Cranleigh Parish and Waverley Borough Councillor, Wendy Dunnett, a retired schoolteacher, and Mark Lebus, a Cranleigh businessman and past chairman of the Cranleigh Initiative.

They had a difficult time in choosing the winner, but eventually decided that Glebelands Team 2 gave the best overall presentation. The members of the winning team were: Hannah Ede (Chairperson), Jade Lindo (Speaker), and Hannah Gibbings (Vote of Thanks).

Regrettably, the Senior Competition had only one entry, a team from Cranleigh School, so they received a bye to the next round, which will take place at Bushy Hill School, Merrow, on 14 February.

“The Rotary Club is grateful to Cranleigh School for agreeing to host the competition,” said Rotarian Michael Hart, organiser of the Youth Speaks Competition.

Youth Speaks is an annual public speaking competition organised by Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI). Schools from all over the country participate in the local rounds, followed by District and Regional Finals before culminating in the National Final.

Photo caption: the wnning Glebelands team.