On Tuesday, the Senior School had the pleasure of hosting the Gloucestershire Regional Final of the English-Speaking Union Churchill Public Speaking Competition in the Sixth Form Common Room. With the first round being held on Zoom due to COVID-19, the St Edward’s team had not had the advantage of seeing another team perform in this competition, as all three members were new to it. The excitement of having a live audience once again, and competing against another team in person, was a thrilling prospect for our students.
They, along with Mr Burke, welcomed the teams from Pate’s Grammar School, two experienced judges and other interested students, displaying a high-level of professionalism and decorum. The face-to-face conditions gave them the confidence to rise to the occasion and all three students, Matthew A (Year 9), Eliza D (Year 10) and Issy P (Year 10), performed splendidly as the Speaker, Chairman and Questioner respectively.
The team performed excellently with Eliza being named Best Chairman and Issy as Best Questioner! They all gained an enormous amount of experience which hopefully will serve them well in the competition next year. They were further delighted to learn that the ESU wished for two teams to be put forward from the Gloucestershire Final and so Matthew, Issy and Eliza will be taking part in the West Regional Final in March. Very good luck to them!
