Our annual Public Speaking competition takes place in March of each year and coincides with our whole school Reading Week. Y12 students are invited to take part: they must compose a short speech on a given topic arguing their viewpoints. The event is held in school and externally judged by our colleagues at The Catenians. The winner is then selected to take part in the Midlands area competition with other Catholic Secondary schools; successful competitors then go on to represent all Midlands secondary schools at the National final the following September. Past winners include Cambridge student Dominika Janke in 2018; Lintu Tom in 2019 who went on to win the West Midlands heat and proudly present St Augustine’s at the final in Manchester. In 2020 our competition was won by Gabriel Dris who continues into Y13 with aspirations of studying Medicine.

The competition not only encourages students to pursue the art of public speaking, an essential skill for any future career choice, but also makes them consider their world around them. We encourage students to challenge accepted views and use evidence to debate and show their audience a fresh perspective on an age old moral question.