FOR the second year running, a team of students from King’s Ely has won the Rotary Club of Cambridge Rutherford’s Youth Speaks public speaking competition.
George Ryan (Year 12), Leo Banahan (Year 13) and Maddie Pinto (Year 11) competed against teams from six other schools in Cambridgeshire at Cambridge’s Perse School. The main speaker, George, argued that ‘Being offended is a natural consequence of leaving the house’. He criticised recent attempts to restrict by law people’s right to insult and offend others, arguing that offence is an entirely subjective term
that cannot be defined by politicians or the police. George was introduced by Leo, then thanked and insulted – in jest – by Maddie, proving the point of his argument!
One of the judges of the competition, David Harvey, who is the Managing Editor of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, has offered the King’s Ely trio the opportunity to take part in a news meeting at Broadcasting House in Cambridge, along with a tour of the studios.
The team will progress to the next round of the competition in the New Year, where they will compete against schools from throughout East Anglia.