Queenswood’s annual Public Speaking Competition was held in the Clarissa Farr Theatre on Thursday 2 March. The standard this year was truly exceptional, with each of the six finalists delivering superbly crafted speeches on a given topic, and answering challenging questions from the floor.

The finalists

• Colette Bacon: ‘Selfies are damaging to our mental health’
• Penney Chu: ‘The internet is overrated’
• Ella Dutton ‘Stop telling us what to eat’
• Katie Hammond: ‘We should pursue a policy of “Trade, not aid”‘
• Jess Hawes: ‘School needs radically updating
• Raisa Kudasheva: ‘Prison isn’t working’

Our adjudicator was journalist, broadcaster and branding consultant Mark Norman. He had the unenviable task of selecting a winner.

The John Fry memorial trophy was ultimately awarded to Ella Dutton (Upper Sixth). Her speech was praised for its humour and poignancy, as well as the level of research, and she answered the judges’ questions with great confidence and clarity.

We would like to congratulate all the finalists, and we are extremely grateful to Mark Norman for giving up his time to adjudicate.