Meriden girls have once again demonstrated their eloquence and adaptability at the first-ever virtual Festival of Speech. Liliane Spratt was awarded first place for Senior Readings, Vernica Mehta gained third place for Senior Public Speaking and Lael Sakalauskas received fourth place for Junior Poetry.
In a COVID-safe setup, all participants filmed their entries in the first round of the competition and the ten top-performing schools in each category were invited to present in the second round. Meriden girls entered the second round in every category: Public Speaking, Readings, Poetry, Current Affairs and Religious and Ethical Questions.
Mrs Margaret Owen, Coordinator of Learning Link – Speech, said all Meriden entrants represented the School well.
“The Festival of Speech requires girls to perform at an elite level in diction, tone, original ideas and engagement,” she said.
“We are proud of the efforts of all the students who worked hard to refine their presentation skills and think deeply about the topics. The girls rose to the many challenges of the 2020 competition, which included having no real audience for their performances, and showed their flair for expressing themselves in interesting, logical ways.”
The festival topics, “Eyes wide open” and “Think Again” were used by Vernica Mehta and Phoebe van Niekerk in the delivery of their speeches. Liliane Spratt and Sneha Shygale focused on mob mentality and helping your neighbour for their entries in the Religious and Non-Fiction Readings sections. The Current Affairs team gave a question and answer presentation on COVID-19 and the articles studied by the Religious and Ethical Questions team centred on our responsibility for the suffering of others. The Poetry Recitations were on the themes “Rite of Passage” and “Memories”.
Congratulations to all Meriden girls who took part in the 2020 Festival of Speech.
