Debating Success

Three pupils from St Peter’s School have reached the Grand Final of the ESU Churchill Public Speaking Competition 2021.  

Third Form (Year 9) pupils Victoria, Eliyah and Evie became Regional Champions following the regional round of the ESU Churchill Public Speaking Competition on Friday 19 March.  

The regional round, which was hosted online via Zoom, featured six teams including two teams from St Peter’s School, and teams from schools across the North East including Dame Allen’s, Newcastle High School for Girls, Malton School and Durham. 

Evie was named Best Speaker of the round with a speech entitled ‘Is Social Media Still Guilty of Limiting Our Political Viewpoint?’ 

Meanwhile, Eliyah and Victoria were Questionner and Chair respectively for the speech entitled ‘Man is born free, and is everywhere in chains’ (Jean-Jacques Rousseau). 

Mrs Lunardi, who co-ordinates the Debating Society at St Peter’s School, said:

They did a wonderful job, having worked on feedback from the last round and preparing well. I am so proud of them. 

The prestigious ESU Churchill Public Speaking Competition, sponsored by the International Churchill Society, is the largest such contest in England and Wales, with around 400 teams. 

Each team comprises a speaker, questioner and a chairperson. The different roles allow pupils to practise and excel in different skill sets, and the competition’s unique format, which pairs the speaker from one school with the chair and questioner of another, encourages quick thinking and relationship building.