On Tuesday 8th February our Year 10 Public Speaking Team took part in the second round of the English Speaking Union’s National Public Speaking Competition via Zoom. Our speaker delivered a compelling speech on the controversial topic: ‘Have the older generation betrayed the younger generation?’ before our chair and questioner worked with a speaker from another school to explore the topic: ‘Can money buy happiness?’

All three students were a credit to themselves and English Martyrs’; they did not look out of place amongst the more experienced teams from Loughborough Grammar, Oundle, Repton and Belper schools. It was a keenly fought contest with very little to choose between the six participating teams. Our team narrowly missed out on a place in the Regional Final.

We now turn our attention to the Catenians’ Public Speaking Competition, to be held on Sunday March 13th at Ratcliffe College. A small group of Sixth Formers are busily preparing their speeches to present to our own selection panel on Monday 21st February. Only one can represent the school in what should be another challenging and enjoyable event.