13 May 2022
St Peter’s College’s internal Year 9 public speaking event, the Arnold Reid Competition, ran throughout Term 1.
The competition, first established in 1945 and recently reinstated in 2010, allows students to build their creativity and public speaking prowess by presenting on a topic of their interest. This year the competition has been re-established as a solely Year 9 event returning to its original structure. A new Middle Years competition will be offered for Years 7 and 8 students in Term 2 to enable them to learn public speaking skills.
As part of the 2022 Arnold Reid Competition our Year 9 contestants presented a short speech responding to a list of prompts, which included ‘Blue Skies’, ‘Start a Conversation’, ‘This Time it Will Be Different’, ‘Wait and See’ and ‘Celebration’. Finalists also presented a three-minute reading from a text of their choice.
Congratulations to all participants! The heats were highly competitive this year and I particularly acknowledge our finalists – well done to Ishaan Chaudhuri and Jack Pillay.
Ultimately, Jack Pillay reigned victorious with an optimistic and motivating prepared speech on Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine in response to the topic “This Time it Will Be Different”. Similarly, Jack’s reading from John F. Kennedy’s Address to the United Nations at the end of the Cold War was incredibly impactful.
Congratulations Jack!
Nia O’Loughlin
Coordinator of Public Speaking