Three promising young orators from Tytherington have recently taken part in the Rotary Youth Speak Competition, a contest run by Rotary Clubs in districts around the country to give young people the opportunity to voice their views on topics they are passionate about and acquire valuable experience of speaking in public The students were hastily drafted in to compete in the Biddulph heat on January 18^th at late notice after the Senior team from another local school pulled out of the competition. Our team, comprising of Tallulah Howarth, Layla Sipi and Harriet Terrington in Year 10 only had two weeks to prepare for the competition, whereas the other competing schools had been getting ready since last May!.

The girls decided to prepare a presentation on the subject of Gender Roles, a topic close to their hearts – particularly for Tallulah, who runs a Feminist Group for students from her own year group, as well as Year 11 and the Sixth Form. Tallulah took on the role as main speaker, whilst Layla became the Chairperson who has to organise the team on the night, and Harriet took the position of the Proposer of the Vote of Thanks, who has to offers comments on the speech and conduct the formal end of the proceedings. Unfortunately, Harriet was ill on the day, which was disappointing for her and for the team, especially as she had put a lot of work into her speech and written some well researched and original ideas. Thankfully, Rhian Brown in Year 13, who has some experience of Public Speaking through the ESU Debating Contest and who is also a member of the feminist group, valiantly stepped into the breach at the very last minute, and did a brilliant job.

The regional heat took place at the Victoria Centre in Biddulph on January 18^th. There were 5 competing schools, and the standard of presentation was very high, as was commented upon by the judges. Although our team did not win, they gave an excellent and thought-provoking insight into the issues surrounding gender roles, both historically and in a contemporary context. The judges commented on the “passionate” nature of their presentation, and the clarity and engaging nature of their performance.

Well done, girls – you did us proud!