Young Speakers Shine at iSpeak 2018

The second annual iSpeak speech competition was held at JSD on Friday 18 May with students speaking on the topic of “change”.  

Students in years 5 and 6 were invited to enter the competition, which required them to write a speech of around two minutes on this year’s topic of “change”. Students in years 4, 5 and 6, parents and special guests gave an enormous amount of support for each of the 25 candidates as they bravely stood at the podium in the Main Hall and gave their speeches.

Everyone in attendance was absolutely astounded by the speakers – not only for their eloquence, but for the maturity and passion that was demonstrated in every speech.

Acting as judges for iSpeak 2018 were Kieran Earley, Ceo/Principal of the BSN; Liz Free, Director of International Leadership Academy; and Peter Wilson, UK Ambassador to the Netherlands. The judges insisted that choosing the winners was an extremely difficult task, and reiterated to the students that each and every one of them should be proud of themselves for speaking.  The two students that were awarded trophies were chosen for their excellent speech delivery, as well as for their well-planned and emotionally stirring subject matter.

Hearing these students speak about their personal connections to change – a topic that so many in the BSN community can relate to – was deeply impactful. Many of the student speakers faced their fears and conquered their nerves by joining in the competition, and inspired the younger students to think about entering next year.

Thank you to our judges, teachers and other staff members who made this day possible. A special thank you to Peter Fowler for all his work organising this incredible event!

See more photos on Flickr.