Year 7 boy Ansh Jassra took first place in a House competition that gave boys the chance to practise their skills in oratory by speaking about a photograph.
Ansh’s speech inspired by the image of Donald Trump was judged to be the winner for Leicester House after a grand final in a Year 7 assembly in which he was pitted against representatives of the other five Houses.
Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Ansh delivered an excellent, topical and wide-ranging speech. As well as weaving in detailed biographical information, he gave a good account of the US election and the controversies associated with the new President, and he included a topical reference to the recent marches.”
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“This competition is one of a number of opportunities that we give pupils to develop their oracy and their skill in public-speaking.”
The competition began during the boys’ Personal Development Time (PDT) sessions – the extended time they spend with their Form Tutor at the start of the afternoon three days a week. The Year 7 boys were each challenged to select a photograph and prepare a three-minute speech about it.
They performed to their respective House tutor groups. The best one was selected by the Form Tutor for participation in the final.
Dr Michael Taylor, Assistant Head and Head of Year 7, introduced the assembly by reminding the boys that, at the launch of the competition, he had shared with them the well-known axiom “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Their challenge had been to pick a photograph that not only had considerable significance but one which offered an opportunity for giving an outstanding verbal presentation – thus perhaps contradicting the saying! Their goal was to demonstrate their eloquence.
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Second place in the competition went to Aum Amin, of Broughton, who presented a photograph of Mount Everest, and third to Om Chakrapani (Staplyton), who spoke about a photo of the Roman Baths in the city of Bath.
The other finalists were:
- Sudhamshi Gummadavelli (Harrisons’) on Mount Titlis in Switzerland
- Surya Dhaka (Pearce) on the refugee crisis
- Akhil Walia (Underne) on the game of chess.
Boys at QE have ample opportunity to practise their speaking skills. Sixty-six of the current Year 7 pupils entered their first LAMDA public-speaking examination towards the end of the Autumn term, with 44 of them (67%) securing a distinction. Debating is highly valued at the School and boys have opportunities to develop their skills through competitions and through partnership activities, such as the debating events held with the girls of The Henrietta Barnett School.