Following their win in January, Badminton Team One had a busy evening last Thursday competing in the English Speaking Union’s Regional Final. Eight teams from across the South West took part in the event on Zoom. Though a slightly altered version of ‘public’ speaking, it remained a nerve-racking and exciting experience. The online audience consisted of esteemed judges, teachers, competing teams and long-standing members of the ESU.
Flying the flag for Badminton, Coco was the first Speaker of the competition. Coco was hosted by Taunton Academy and delivered a fascinating speech: One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. (Martin Luther King Jr). She raised some important points, referring to historical examples of people disobeying unjust laws and fighting for their rights. From the Suffragettes to Anne Frank, and from Oscar Schindler to the civil rights movement, Coco articulated a powerful argument in how disobeying unjust laws can achieve positive change and even save lives. She also provided knowledgeable, composed responses to some tough questions.
Chenumi and Darcy hosted Bishop Wordsworth’s School. Chenumi gave an engaging introduction in her role as Chairperson, opening the topic: It’s 2021 – where are all the flying cars? Later it was Darcy’s turn as Questioner, who enabled the Speaker to explore his topic in more depth. The Speaker argued that flying cars are unnecessary. Darcy asked him how this invention might be deemed a positive thing, and how it might be used for the greater good. Chenumi then closed the presentation with a poignant final thought, all the while making sure the presentation ran to time.
It was a tense one hour wait until the judges finished deliberating. The standards of the evening were very high, and they had a difficult decision, but in the end Taunton Academy were the winners of the evening, with Ryde School as runner up.
Badminton was the only school from Bristol who competed in this year’s competition. The pupils did amazingly well to get to Regional Final and not only represent the School, but also the city in this prestigious public speaking event.
Congratulations again to Coco, Chenumi and Darcy for all their hard work and their achievement in this year’s ESU.
