Year 7 College student, Isabella Campion would have you believe that self-belief will help you achieve anything you set your mind to. And in her case, having self-belief and inspiring others to also believe in themselves helped her win the College Year 7 Speech competition! Having researched the features of persuasive writing and public speaking, all of the Year 7 students had delivered speeches in class. The top six speeches were then selected to progress to the finals, where they performed in front of the Year 7 cohort and parents in the Goodfellow Centre. The College Head of English, Ms JoAnn Wordsworth, was called upon to adjudicate the speeches, based upon their choice of topic, the strength of their argument and public speaking ability. The masters of ceremonies for the event were place-getters in last year’s competition, Ava McKenzie and Danielle Mayer.

Isabella’s winning entry was a convincing case for the importance of self-belief. She detailed early uses of the concept, such as biblical references, and gave the example of Michael Phelps setting the all-time record of winning eight gold medals at one Olympic Games. ‘Self-belief is so important because otherwise you are limiting yourself and you’re not achieving your full potential. There will always be people telling you that you’re not good enough and that your dream is too difficult to achieve. Or too bold. Or too ambitious. This is when you have really got to push your self-doubt aside and believe. By doing this the opportunities are endless.’

Jeremy Bright placed second for his clever exposé of the trappings of wealth. After beginning his speech wanting to be a millionaire, by the end of it he had realised other things are more important. ‘Most people dedicate their lives to become multi-millionaires and you can’t blame them but is having outrageous amounts of money really as good as it seems to be?’

Ruby Haddon was awarded third place for her analysis of the visual, aural and emotional impact of advertising. She contended that junk food advertising is targeting children and influencing their dietary choices. ‘Be careful of what you eat and look and listen carefully to the ads. It’s not that food shouldn’t be advertised, I’m just saying don’t be fooled by the cute factor and cool music.  Don’t get hooked in, because in the end all the companies are trying to do is sell their product, at whatever cost, even if it’s your teeth!

Congratulations to all of the finalists and especially Isabella, Jeremy and Ruby!

1st place: Isabella Campion

2nd place: Jeremy Bright

3rd place: Ruby Haddon

Finalists: Lexi McOmish, Jack McKenzie, Jack Loutit

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