Recently, our Intermediate (Annabel Atkinson, Daisy Court and Neve Owen) and Senior (Albert Kent, Mia Owen and Ed Stapleton) debating teams reached the area semi-finals of the Rotary Youth Speaks competition. Neve and Albert share their thoughts below:
My name is Neve Owen and I am one of the MCS Intermediate team members of the Debate Club. I first had an interest in doing Debate Club in Year 7 (I’m currently in Year 8) but didn’t officially join the team as a speaker. Instead, I helped research whilst watching how the process worked. This year, however, I built up the courage to have a go. I’m really glad I did as I’ve made so many friendships through Debate Club and participating in the competition has definitely given me more confidence to speak in front of a group of people. I’ve also now got some experience writing speeches!
Following our win in the local heat of the Youth Speaks debating competition, we moved on to the semi-final this month. On the day of the semi-final, we were up against four other teams and the competition was really tough. Each school was sent up one by one to present their debates and each was asked a question at the end. It really tested our quick-thinking skills – another thing I now feel more confident with. We came second, which was an excellent achievement.
Overall, I’ve had a really amazing experience at Debate Club and I’ve really enjoyed speaking at the Youth Speaks competition.
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The local Youth Speaks heat took place in the Shire Hall with both MCS teams going through to the district semi-finals - audience engagement played a key part, as well as the invaluable advice from our mentor, Mr Jones.
Are humans inherently selfish? This is the question my team explored in the Rotary Youth Speaks competition. What made our team pick this topic was that it engages two clear sides of the debate, as well as the topic being deeply personal. The brief was to deliver a five-minute speech on the topic. One member of the team (the proposer) delivered a judgement on the question whilst another (the opposer) countered, with it all mediated by a Chairperson. The entire unit of two speeches, a summary and a question had to be completed in 15 minutes.
The district heat was fiercely competitive but our team delivered a stout performance, coming joint 3rd. Overall, Youth Speaks taught me a valuable lesson about public speaking: confidence is the key.
Congratulations to Year 9 student Elisabeth Jackson who 
Congratulations to Will who competed in the Middle Boys race finishing 2nd and helping the Middle Boys team to a Bronze overall. Will will now represent Wales in the national event in Scotland in March. 
