SPEECH writing and public speaking were front and centre at the Hamilton and District Legacy Junior Public Speaking competition held at Hamilton & District Legacy House earlier this month, with local students using the event to demonstrate their communication skills.

15 students aged between 12 and 14 years old from The Hamilton and Alexandra College, Monivae College, Baimbidge College, Bayview College, and Portland Secondary College participated in the event.

Now in its 33rd year, this was the first time the Junior Public Speaking event was held since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with competition convenor, John Graham, saying the response from local students was resoundingly positive.

“It was fantastic to see such a great response from local schools to the Hamilton and District Legacy Junior public speaking event,” he said.

The event was designed to encourage students to share their views on voluntary and personal effort/sacrifice, care and compassion, and the importance of remembrance.

The students had to present a five-minute prepared speech on a topic of their choice, and a two-minute impromptu speech, where they were presented with a topic and given five minutes to prepare their response.

The impromptu topic was chosen by the three judges, Heather Ward, Jack Waldron, and Peter Cook, and asked the students to discuss ‘the best letter of the alphabet’.

All students involved received certificates of participation from Hamilton & District Legacy president, Rod Papworth, with four students chosen to represent their respective schools in the Victorian final held by Ballarat Legacy on September 7.

The top four students selected to participate in state final public speaking competition were first place, Milly Bayona from Portland Secondary College who discussed “The Importance of Remembrance”; second place, Shannon Mhasho from Monivae College Hamilton who discussed “Social Justice for Women”; third place, Daisy Bayona from Portland Secondary College who discussed “Mateship”, and fourth place, Rose Dainty from Bayview College Portland who discussed “Advance Australia Fair”.

Mr Graham said the standard of speeches were “outstanding” this year and made it difficult for the three judges to select a single winner.

Mr Graham wanted to extend his thanks to the three judges, and the teachers and students from the participating secondary schools for making the event a success and wished the finalists the best of luck for the Victorian Final in Ballarat.