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News
Have you ever considered the notion that a ferret could come in handy when rewiring Buckingham Palace? Did you know that horseshoe crabs donate blood which is used to treat humans with serious illnesses? Or given thought to the role that animals, such as horses, donkeys and elephants, play in human transport. Or even the responsibility given to humble pigeons that carried messages in wartime France?
Listening to the winner of this year’s Boys’ School Senior Speech Competition, Seth Mellis-Glynn certainly had the power of persuasive and entertaining speech to convince us that animals are ‘essential workers’ and ‘should replace us in the workforce!’
Yesterday eleven of the best speakers in Years 7 and 8 stepped up to present their speeches in the final round of the Senior School Speech competition. To put this in perspective, 270 Senior School boys initially prepared and delivered speeches, from which 30 were chosen to present to speech co-ordinator, Mr Chris Topp and Principal, Mr Peter Cassie. From this 30, the eleven finalists were chosen and as Mr Cassie said, ‘There was certainly rigour in the selection process!’
This year we had the pleasure of welcoming Wendy Petrie, the co-anchor of Television New Zealand's One News at 6pm for many years and Kate Laurence, the Director of Head Held High as adjudicators, with assistance from former staff member, Mrs Gaye Pilkington.
From ‘Opinions’ to ‘Fear’ and ‘The importance of eye contact;’ every one of the finalists was a strong contender with excellent speech making skills, consequently, judging was not easy! However, having given close consideration to speech construction, delivery and presentation, content and engagement, use of language and the overall impact, the adjudicators made their final decision.
With Seth taking the winning spot, Wendy and Kate expressed their difficulty selecting a runner up, eventually splitting it two ways with Seb Poole’s take on ‘Perception v Reality’ and Ari Taylor sharing life in the Taylor household during lockdown, and the relief at being back at school, securing the boys shared second place.
Well done to all those who presented their speeches and to MCs for the afternoon, Carter McMahon and Devaansh Gupta, and musicians, Arden Matheson on guitar and Edison Zhou on piano. Well done boys!
Our sincere thanks to adjudicators, Wendy Petrie and Kate Laurence for their time and encouraging comments.
SENIOR SCHOOL SPEECH COMPETITION
WINNER
Seth Mellis-Glynn Animals in the Work Force
Runners Up
Sebe PoolePerception v Reality
Ari Taylor Why I Appreciate School More
Finalists
James HiddlestonOpinions
Adam AndrewsFear
Isaac MorrisWhy Sayings are Not Always Correct
Jonny OrmondThe Importance of Eye-Contact
Rafi NewlandOut Front
Theo ColyerChoices
Hugo MortimerPollution
Luca EvansUsing Your Voice
View the gallery here
View Seth Mellis-Glynn's Speech here