On Saturday, 1st March, five Year 9 students took part in a public speaking competition in the prestigious Ryton Festival (a speech and drama festival which has been running for 80 years). Students worked exceptionally hard, over a period of months, researching, writing and honing a speech about a topic of their choice, covering subjects as diverse as mental health in young men, the inequality between men and women in sports, the dangers of alcohol, foibles in the English language, and misunderstandings about autism. Their speeches were, without exception, well-researched, cleverly structured, and eloquently written - demonstrating true passion and belief in the importance of their topics.
Students took to the stage in a busy town hall, performing to an audience of strangers and judges - and excelled. Indeed, the lead judge commented on what a privilege it had been to hear their thoughts and opinions presented so well. All students were very highly commended and represented Gosforth Academy very well indeed - but particular congratulations are due to Emma Hughes, who won first place with her speech about the pressure of unrealistic beauty standards, and Matilda Kinnaird, who won second place with her speech about the perils of alcohol.
The full list of students who took part, and their speech topics, are below:
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Emma Hughes (first prize): Teenage Beauty Standards
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Matilda Kinnaird (second prize): The Dangers of Alcohol
- Ava Cooksey: Autism
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Megan Carthy: Women in Sport
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Wills Vernon - Homophones, Heteronyms and Silent Letters
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Fedhl Ibraheem: Depression and Mental Health in Young Men