Public speaking competition 2024

Once again, the young people of South Reading shone, as those who reached the final of the annual Aspire2 Public Speaking competition gave their speeches to a large crowd assembled in one of the lecture halls at Reading University on Tuesday 27th February.

It started with a KS1 student who gave an impressively confident speech outlining what she would do if she was in charge. This was followed by the finalists in upper and lower KS2 declaring what they would do if they were Prime Minister. The students were all full of charisma and confidence as they outlined the issues that were important to them and how they would address them. How refreshing it was to hear the passion and conviction in their voices and the extent to which they had thought through each of their policies.

Later in the evening the finalists from KS3 and KS4 arrived. The judges were struck by the care they had taken to structure their speeches. They were able to grab the attention of their audience with a clear and entertaining introduction followed up by carefully considered arguments which were often backed up with evidence and statistics. Issues such as how to save the planet, the cost of living crisis, the state of the NHS, immigration and equality were all covered with considerable care and expertise. As many of the audience said – if only these young people were in charge!

This event gets better every year with so many Whitley pupils and students taking part and being so well supported by their parents, carers and teachers.