Jack Petchey ‘Speak Out’ Challenge at JRCS

20 Nov Jack Petchey ‘Speak Out’ Challenge at JRCS

On Monday 16th November, 24 Year 10 students took part in the Jack Petchey ‘Speak Out’ Challenge which is the biggest public speaking event for young people in the world.  In this challenge, each participant attended a series of workshops about public speaking and then performed a 2-minute speech on something they felt passionate about, such as the negative effects of social media.  At the end of the event, all of the students who took part received a Level 1 certificate in communication.

When asked, the students said they found the event extremely helpful in preparing them for their future as it gave them experience in public speaking.  Moreover, they felt it enabled them to learn how to articulate and express themselves in a professional manner; therefore, the students highly valued this opportunity they were offered.  The facilitator who came from Jack Petchey, Carl, stated that the students were highly engaged and responsive from the beginning and that he wouldn’t hesitate to come back to the school if given the opportunity to in the future.

Miss Ryzak, the organiser of the event, found it was a great challenge to organise a face to face event in view of the pandemic but believes that the best way to practise public speaking is to be able to present in front of people in real life.  She expressed that the students were absolutely amazing and displayed commitment and resilience which every student should aspire to show.  Miss Ryzak said she felt proud to lead an event for such amazing young people our students have proven to be and enjoyed seeing the shift in many of their confidence levels.

Importantly, Miss Ryzak would like to thank the Year 13 Business Students, led by Fesal, who provided valuable support in enabling the smooth running of the event whilst being an irreplaceable part of the judges’ panel. Also, Abigail, a Year 13 English student who took on the task of being a journalist for a day and representatives of the Year 13 Media Team who helped to capture true memories.

The four winners, Elle, Anoy, Jorthy and Julia, will go through to a second round where they will need to perform a speech in an assembly in front of a whole year group which will take place at the end of November.  Then the two best will go through to the regional competition where they will represent JRCS. Notably, Daniel, Zack, Temi and Ruby received the ‘highly commended’ certificate as recognition for going the extra mile throughout the day which is also a great accomplishment.

Overall, it was a great day where the students were able to develop and refine their public speaking skills and gain more confidence in these vital life skills.  Well done to the winners and all those who took part for their accomplishments!

Abigail

Year 13 English student at JRCS

Acting School Journalist