On Thursday 10 and Friday 11 March, 38 Year 10 students took part in this year's Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge workshop. We were delighted to be able to welcome Fiona Whytehead, from the Speakers' Trust, back into school to lead the day-long workshop.

Fiona led the students through a series of games and activities, and offered lots of her 'Top Tips' for public speaking. Throughout the day, all of the students got up and 'spoke out' to the rest of the group three times. They learnt about the three components needed to produce a high-quality speech - content, structure and delivery. All of the students were fantastic, and were a real credit to our school - they approached the day with open minds and with enthusiasm. By the end of the day, all of the students stood up and presented their own one-minute-long speech to the rest of the group - they chose their topic, and they carefully crafted and shaped their content, structure and delivery. We were so impressed with the mature approach shown by the students; the support they gave each other when each of them stood up to speak was remarkable. A big congratulations must go to Will Heath, Amelia Lewis, Jaimee Ross, Evey Daly, Eli Green and Dylan Ewing who were chosen as our workshop winners, and who will now further develop their speeches and perform them for a second time in two weeks’ time for our School Competition. Fiona Whytehead, from The Speakers’ Trust, said: ‘The students all did themselves proud. I love delivering these sessions as it enables students to speak up and be heard. Most of the students were very nervous at the beginning of the day at the thought of speaking in public – but by the end of the day, they all got up and delivered a personal speech about something they cared about.’

Mrs Stringer and Miss Quinn