Public speaking and debating empowers boys to express their ideas, engage with diverse perspectives and defend their viewpoint. Practising these skills, boys equip themselves for future courses and careers that require incisive thinking, crisp communication, engagement with big ideas and the ability to disagree well.
Our holistic approach to oracy ensures that boys not only excel in competitions but also develop lifelong communication skills. There are a myriad of ways in which boys can get involved and greatly improve these crucial leadership skills: House Debating, the British Science Week’s science debate and the Lovelace Society’s debate with Bedford Girls’ School, as well as oracy activities during lessons.
Some boys take this a step further and compete against other teams at a variety of inter-school competitions. This year, these boys have performed exceptionally well and achieved some great successes along the way.
English Speaking Union Schools’ Mace
One of the oldest and largest debating competitions saw over 1,000 pupils from 300 premier UK schools take part in a competition where students debated a wide array of controversial subjects and current affairs. Sixth Formers Millan Verwoert and Sam Maling performed brilliantly to secure a place at the National Semi Final, with debates on the education system, protest movements and the judiciary system. The boys were just pipped to the post by a very strong Radley team.
Millan explained, “It was an incredible experience, I have cherished every moment of debating and public speaking at Bedford. It truly is one of the best things you can do as a boy at Bedford. It has improved my confidence, my ability to write persuasively has helped to develop my organisational skills and given me a passion and zeal for debating which I endeavour to carry on at university.”
English Speaking Union Churchill Public Speaking Competition
This prestigious competition is the largest competition of its kind in the country with around 400 teams, each with a speaker, questioner and chairperson, competing. The different roles allow pupils to practise and excel in different skillsets. The competition’s unique format, which pairs the speaker from one school with the chair and questioner of another also encourages quick thinking and relationship building.
Fifth Formers Henry Gillham, George Gutteridge and Fraser Morgan enjoyed notable success this year, reaching the National Finals, which will take place at Churchill College, Cambridge. This is only the third time in living memory that a Bedford School team has made it this far in the competition.
George Gutteridge was named ‘Best Questioner’ in the semi-finals and Fraser Morgan spoke on the topic ‘Is the UK still united?’, with Henry Gillham proving himself to be a natural and witty Chairperson.
Henry told us, “We, as a team, were overjoyed when we learned that we had made it through to National Finals of the ESU competition. It was satisfying to know that the hard work from us and the incredible efforts made by our supporting teachers had paid off. Now we look to further improve our game for the National Finals.”
We wish the boys the best of luck in the finals which will be held in May.
Rotary Youth Speaks a Debate
Organised by Rotary International, this public speaking and debating competition is an opportunity for pupils to develop the ability to speak on a public platform, carry out research and formulate ideas, improve self-confidence and presentation skills, and work as a team.
The competition, sponsored by the Bedford Rotary at a local level, is split into senior and intermediate competitions. The Bedford School senior team this year was made up of Remove Formers Vir Walia and Ralph Franklin along with Fifth Former Charlie Diamond, and they came runners up in the Herts and Beds area group held at Bishops Hatfield School.
In the intermediate team, Fourth Formers Nathaniel Fletcher, Aaryan Nair and Oliver Barbour debated the topic of ‘Video Games’ to win the district finals, earning themselves a place in the next round which will take place on Saturday 23 March.
Charlie commented, “My favourite part of public speaking is how it gives me the opportunity to talk about and impart my knowledge and interest to the audience on a subject that I am interested in and have prepared to talk about. Another thing I really love is when I am able to get a response from the audience.”
ARTiculation
Earlier this month Upper Sixth Former Barnaby Williams reached the Regional Final of the ARTiculation competition; this is an annual national public speaking competition, which invites sixth form students to give a short presentation on a piece of work, artefact or architecture of their choice.
After a close round of internal heats, Barnaby was selected to represent the school at the Regional Final which took place at the Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury. Barnaby’s thoughtful and eloquent talk on the work ‘Night Ice’ by Anne Desmet RA was celebrated by the adjudicators, Dr Steven Parissien and Dr Lara Pucci.
Barnaby’s authoritative talk began with Desmet’s background, her early years in and out of hospital, which were well tied into the development of her small-scale work and gave an excellent grounding for his visual analysis. Barnaby’s analysis and comparison of the ‘Night Ice’ with other works in the series, as well as artists such as Monet, Nevison and M.C Escher, effectively weaved the formal qualities of the print to the content, environment and the process.
Barnaby’s personal response to the work, and his confidence in articulating such a complex print within 10 minutes was fantastic and he has much to be proud of. He represented the school in an exemplary fashion and was unfortunate to miss out on placing amongst some strong competitors. Barnaby has since been inducted into the ARTiculation Alumni Network, through which a plethora of opportunities are made available to finalists. A huge well done to Barnaby for this superb achievement.
The boys, who prepared thoroughly, were coached in the lead-up to the various competitions by Head of Speech and Drama, Miss Fi Fowler, who gave them lots of practice and tips on how to improve.
Miss Fowler said, “It is fantastic to see so many boys wanting to compete in oracy. They work hard and approach them with good grace, and maybe a tiny bit of competitiveness. The speeches they prepare, the research they do, the knowledge that they have, and the personalities to complete the package, never ceases to amaze and impress me.”
Miss Fowler went on to say, “Everyone, no matter where they end up in life, will need to public speak at some point. This could be making presentations to colleagues or prospective clients, voicing your opinion in a department meeting or even at an interview for university or a job. To have the confidence of your convictions, the ability to be heard and to structure language in a clear and concise way are a must.”