On Wednesday, 11^th February teams of students from Hull and East Riding Schools will compete in the first round of the Rotary National Youth Speaks Competition.  This is an annual competition which has been organised by the local Hull and East Riding Rotary Clubs for over ten years and in 2002 Hornsea were the national competition winners.

Teams can be submitted for two categories – Intermediate (11-13 years) and Senior (14-17 years).  Each team comprises a Chairperson, the Speaker and a Proposer for the Vote of Thanks.  Overall each team takes the stage for a maximum of 15 minutes.

These year’s teams have already submitted their topics with range from “A viewpoint on Animal testing” to “Has female emancipation led to the enslavement of men”, and “make do and mend” to “why we should withdraw from the EU”

Last year’s winners in both categories were for the first time South Holderness.  Their teacher Angela Lowery said  “The students gain much more than winning an accolade.  They gain self esteem, speaking and listening skills”   Monetary prizes and trophies sponsored by the Rotary Clubs are awarded to the successful teams.  The winning team then goes on to compete in the next round against other schools in this Rotary District.

 Janet Brumby, Senior Team manager for Young Enterprise enjoys working in partnership with the local Rotary clubs and has been involved in their Youth Speaks Annual public speaking competition for the last few years, both as a volunteer committee member and a judge. 

Janet commented ‘’The working partnership between Young Enterprise and The Rotary club demonstrates perfectly how both organizations share a common aim, which is to help and inspire young people to reach their full potential. It’s such a competitive market place in the real world when it comes to business and employment and we feel very strongly that well prepared, confident young candidates are what Universities and employers are looking for.’’