Pupils from Felsted Prep School celebrated the power of using their voices for World Speech Day 2023.
The school held a public speaking competition for pupils aged six to 13 - with topics covered including 'zero hunger' and 'gender equality'.
Themes for the speeches were drawn from the UN's Global Goals and, to prepare for writing and practising their own presentations, pupils listened to an inspiring talk by former bodyguard to Nelson Mandela Chris Lubbe, who explained how they can use their voices to make a difference.
One winner per year group was crowned during the early rounds of the competition. They were then pitted against each other in the final, with speeches streamed live and watched by the whole of the prep school.
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The panel of judges included head of Felsted Prep Miranda Norris and Felsted School head Chris Townsend.
They were joined by two guest judges, former head of Felsted Prep Jenny Burrett and head of Thorpe Hall School Stephen Duckett.
Mrs Norris commented: "We were astounded by the quality of the speeches, and particularly the very powerful calls to action."
Krishna in Year 4 was named the overal winner for his "masterful performance" on the topic of responsible production and consumption.
He was commended by the judges for his thorough knowledge and passion for the subject, which they said was "clear not just in his words - his very body language spoke to the audience".
Ocean in Year 8 was the runner-up, who also spoke about responsible production and consumption. The judges said that he took them on a "personal journey", and praised his ability to bring home the number of people affected, and to challenge everyone to make everyday small changes to make a big difference.
During the day, the audience also heard from a Felsted Sixth Former who gave a speech on neurodiversity, as well as an extract of Shakespeare from two LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) pupils during the judging.
Pupils at Felsted develop their public speaking skills through regular drama lessons and opportunities to present at assemblies and school events.
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