Hazel Grove High School is celebrating a fantastic double victory after two student teams won their respective District Heats in this year’s Rotary Youth Speaks competition.
Youth Speaks is one of Rotary’s most established programmes, offering young people the chance to develop public speaking, teamwork and leadership skills by presenting on a topic of their choice. This year’s competition saw 43 schools enter 90 teams across District 1285, giving students from across the North West a platform to speak about the issues that matter most to them. The first stage of the competition involved 11 District Heats.
At the Wilmslow District Heat on Wednesday 28th January, Hazel Grove’s Year 8 team impressed the judges with their thoughtful and engaging presentation on the negative impact of social media on teenagers’ mental and physical health.
Their strong delivery secured first place in the Intermediate category against tough competition from four other schools.
The success continued a week later at the Knutsford District Heat on Thursday 5th February, where the Sixth Form Year 12 team delivered a compelling talk on rethinking the role of creative subjects in schools.
Their confident performance saw them finish in first place in the Senior category, ahead of teams from four other schools.
Both Hazel Grove teams will now progress to the District Finals at The Macclesfield Academy on Sunday 1st March.
The Intermediate team will compete for the Warren Heyes Shield, while the Senior team will compete for the Wendy Sutcliffe Shield.
A win at this stage would take them to the Grand Final for the Forest Hills Trophies on Sunday 8th March in Frodsham, with the North of England Youth Speaks Final to follow later in the month.
We are incredibly proud of both teams and their outstanding performance so far. We wish them every success as they move on to the next stage of the competition – good luck!