Tytherington School - Intermediate National Champions in 2019

2024 Competition
V1 Updated April 2023

(To download the latest version from the District website Google “Rotary District 1285 Youth Speaks.”)

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Table of Contents
ROTARY DISTRICT 1285 YOUTH SPEAKS INFORMATION PACK 2023-2024.........................................3
Introduction................................................................................................................................... 3
Aims................................................................................................................................................ 3
What is Youth Speaks?................................................................................................................... 3
Who can take part?........................................................................................................................ 3
Youth Speaks is a public speaking competition, not a debating competition. What’s the
difference?..................................................................................................................................... 4
How to enter.................................................................................................................................. 4
The Stages of the Competition.......................................................................................................4
Getting started............................................................................................................................... 4
Competition Guidelines..................................................................................................................5
Format........................................................................................................................................ 5
Judges......................................................................................................................................... 5
Judging Criteria...........................................................................................................................5
Questioner..................................................................................................................................5
Prizes.......................................................................................................................................... 5
Competition Procedure.................................................................................................................. 6
Arrival......................................................................................................................................... 6
Arrangements.............................................................................................................................6
Order of Presentation.................................................................................................................6
Results........................................................................................................................................ 7
Judges’ Score Sheet........................................................................................................................ 8
Briefing for Judges.......................................................................................................................... 9
Guidance on marking................................................................................................................... 10
Guidance for questioners............................................................................................................. 12
Time Keeper’s Score Sheet...........................................................................................................13
District Heat Checklist for Organisers...........................................................................................15
Guidance for Sponsors................................................................................................................. 16
Youth Speaks – A Brief History in District 1285............................................................................17
Youth Competitions......................................................................................................................18
Working with Children..................................................................................................................18

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ROTARY DISTRICT 1285 YOUTH SPEAKS
INFORMATION PACK 2023-2024

Introduction

The Youth Speaks Competition is one of Rotary’s most successful and well supported programmes.
It provides a wonderful platform for young people to develop and perform and is a tremendous
demonstration the talents of the young people involved. The young people benefit not only by
developing public speaking skills, they also grow in confidence and ambition. Many become role
models for their peers and so have a wider impact beyond just the team members involved.

Aims
This competition aims to offer young people:

 the opportunity to express their opinions on a topic they choose themselves

 development in confidence, ambition and leadership
 the chance to learn and practise the skills of public speaking
 experience of teamwork in public speaking
 practice in the skill of dealing with a topic in a limited time
 assessment by experienced judges

What is Youth Speaks?

Youth Speaks is a public speaking competition for 11-18 year olds. It is one of the top 3 public
speaking competitions in this District, the other two being the Churchill Public Speaking
Competition and the Catenian. Youth Speaks is the only public speaking competition for schools
open to the 11-13 age range. The non-adversarial format means speakers are free to choose a
topic they want to talk about. It could be for example about a personal experience they value or
an issue they feel passionately about. We get the authentic voice of young people speaking about
what matters to them, hence the name Youth Speaks. Members of the audience are often moved,
impressed, even stunned by what they hear from the young people involved. (You can read the
comments of the young people, parents and other audience members in the “Feedback”
download from the District Youth Speaks website.)

Who can take part?

The competition is open all schools and college communities including those that are home
educated and any other young people’s community organisations, for example, community
RotaKids, community Interact, Scout Groups, Girl Guides. Each team will comprise of three
students in full time education in two age groups: Intermediate (11 to 13 years) and Senior (14 to
17 years). Teams can participate in a district that is outside of their boundary but can only
compete in one district.

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Youth Speaks is a public speaking competition, not a debating competition. What’s the
difference?

Many of the topics chosen by teams in Youth Speaks are either personal with no side, or topical
with one strong side and would not be suitable for a debate. They are free to choose a topic of
interest to them. See the Student Guide for more detail. In debating competitions speakers must
speak for or against a motion. This requires a binary topic which is evenly balanced so both sides
have an equal chance to present an argument, which restricts the range of topics possible. Schools
are often involved in both types of competition as they develop different but complementary
skills.

How to enter

For information on how to enter please refer to the Entry Pack, which is available as a separate
download from the District website.

The Stages of the Competition

 District Heats are run by local Rotary clubs working in cooperation and take place in January
and February. Intermediate and Senior winners go forward to the District Finals.
 District Finals These take place in the first 2 weeks of March and are run by Macclesfield Castle
Rotary, Newton-le-Willows Rotary and Rochdale Rotary
 Grand Final This takes place at the Forest Hills Hotel in March and is a Final for winners of
District Finals.

Getting started

Each school will have its own needs and opportunities and will find its own way, but here are some
ideas and questions to think about.

 Put the date of your heat in the school calendar. It makes sure everyone in school knows about
it, pastoral and senior staff can support you and it helps avoid other events being organised at
the same time which clash with yours.
 Is Youth Speaks to be completely extracurricular or will it be used to support learning in a
particular subject area, for example, speaking in English or a project in PSHE?
 Will you recruit across the school or target particular year groups or students? Youth Speaks
helps develop confidence and ambition. Are there students you particularly want to target?
E.g. students with particular needs or potential role models.
 Starting in KS3 has advantages. There is less exam pressure. It means your role models are
around for longer. They get more chances to compete and are better prepared to compete in
KS4/5.
 How and when do you launch your competition? Youth Speaks teams need to be ready to
compete in January/February when the heats begin. Starting in the summer term gives more
time and some schools do this. A possible option could start with a school based best speaker
competition for individuals in the Summer term, then recruit your Youth Speaks teams.
 Plan ahead to avoid pressure points like exams and reports so that you don’t overload yourself
or the students.
 Seek help and advice from your Rotary Sponsor or the District Youth Speaks Officer.

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Competition Guidelines

Format

Each team member takes on one of three roles: chairperson, speaker and vote of thanks. The
team should be the same throughout the competition. In exceptional circumstances substitutions
may be made, subject to the approval of the competition organiser. Each team member is
allocated a time in which to perform their role. The role of each team member is outlined in the
procedure section There is further detail in the mark scheme and marking guidance and it is
advisable to refer to this when preparing teams.

Judges

Judges with appropriate skills, appointed by Rotary, will apply the judging criteria and provide
feedback to all competitors and mentoring to winners. The judges will not discuss marks and their
decision will be final. Rotarians will not be appointed as a judge for Regional or National Finals. At
the end of the competition, the organiser will collect the judges’ score sheets which will be
retained by the competition organiser for a minimum of 3 months after the date of the National
Final, after which they must be destroyed to comply with GDPR and the competition Privacy
Policy.

Judging Criteria

Chairperson’s management of the meeting 25 points

Speaker’s ability to present and develop a topic and ability to answer the 50 points
question
Quality and courtesy of the vote of thanks 25 points
Teamwork 15 points
Total 115 points

The judge’s score sheet which illustrates the points judges particularly will be looking at, is
provided in this information pack. (See the contents page.) Marks are awarded for both content
and delivery. The judges will deduct one point for each complete 15 seconds over the allocated
time and one point for each complete 30 seconds under the allocated time. Points will not be
deducted for time in answering the question. A Rotarian with no interest in the participating
teams will review the scores to ensure accuracy before the results are announced. Only in
exceptional circumstances and at the sole discretion of the competition organiser, will
correspondence or discussion be entered into following a competition.

Questioner
The questioner, who shall not be one of the judges, will be appointed by the competition
organiser. Speakers will be asked to respond to a question asked by the questioner. The
questioner can be a Rotarian but not from a participating club.

Prizes
At all stages of the competition competitors will receive a certificate of participation. At the
District Final, the winning Intermediate and Senior teams will receive District Shields.

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Competition Procedure

Arrival

Before each competition, the competition organiser will conduct a draw to determine the order in
which each team will make their presentation. The order will be notified to teams at the
competition. In unforeseen circumstances, the organisers may have to adjust the order.

Arrangements

A master of ceremonies will invite each team in order of the draw, to come to the front or stage to
make their presentation.

The team should be ushered into position by the chairperson who should sit down with the
speaker on their right and the vote of thanks on their left. This is a team competition and each
team member must conduct themselves so that they are attentive and listening to whichever of
the team members is speaking. A reminder that the team MAY NOT use props or enter into a
dramatic performance as this is a public speaking competition.

A system of lights or coloured cards will be used to advise team members of time. Green will
indicate start, amber will warn that the allocated time is coming to an end and red will indicate the
end of allocated time.

Notes may be used. However, their use should not be too obvious - simply reading written content
will be reflected in the marks. Notes can be written on paper, card, tablet or iPad. If electronic
media is used for this purpose it must be used only as a reminder of the content of the speech and
not as a prop or as a live means of presenting or sourcing information. Cards as prompts are better
than A4 notes but ideally teams should deliver the presentation without either.

Items other than dress or the furniture provided are not permitted to be used as props. The use of
props will be severely reflected in the judges’ marks. This includes the use of power point
presentation.

Where venues would benefit from amplification, static microphones will be provided for team
members to use. A sound test will be arranged prior to the start of the competition. If any team
member fails to use the static microphones and their words are inaudible the judges will deduct
marks.

Order of Presentation

The team members will perform their roles in the following order:

Chairperson
When the team is ready the chairperson will stand. From this point on the chairperson is in control
of the team’s performance until the performance is closed after the vote of thanks. The
chairperson should briefly link the team’s presentations. There is no time penalty involved in this
part of the chairperson’s role. The chairperson has two minutes to welcome the audience and to
introduce the speaker. The introduction should include the relevance or expertise of the speaker
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to the subject of their speech. An amber light will indicate there are thirty seconds left of the
allocated two minutes.

Speaker

The speaker has six minutes to speak on their chosen subject. The speaker may choose any
subject, subject to the approval of the organisers. Considerable discretion should be used in
choosing the subject. Sensitive subjects such as party politics, race or religion should be avoided.
The subject may be changed between stages. An amber light will indicate there is one
minute left of the allocated six minutes

Chairperson

When the speaker has finished the chairperson will invite the questioner to ask a question

Speaker

Before answering the question, the speaker may seek clarification of the question via the
chairperson. The speaker, who is the subject expert, may not consult about the question with
other team members. The speaker then has about two minutes to answer the question. An amber
light will indicate two minutes are drawing to a close and after the amber light speakers should
bring their response to a conclusion. Speakers are advised to respond spontaneously, without
prepared sections, to obtain high marks from the judges.

Chairperson

When the speaker has finished answering the question, the chairman will introduce the proposer
of the vote of thanks.

Vote of Thanks

The proposer of the vote of thanks has two minutes to speak. The vote of thanks should remark on
both the content of the speech and the response to the question. The audience should then be
invited to show its appreciation of the speaker. An amber light will indicate there are thirty
seconds left of the allocated two minutes. The speaker giving the vote of thanks is advised to
respond spontaneously to the response to the question, without prepared sections, to obtain high
marks from the judges.

Chairperson

After the vote of thanks and applause the chairperson will close the proceedings.

Results

After the judges have determined the result of the competition, the senior judge will comment on
their observations before announcing the result.

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Judges’ Score Sheet
Team Topic Judge
Member Aspect Marks Points to be considered Comments Score
Effective use of voice, clear enunciation, audibility, easy manner,
Delivery 5 natural gestures, expression of personality, humour in the right
context. Use of notes.
Chairperson
Business-like, yet courteous handling of the meeting. Maintain a
Control 10
good atmosphere with a calm & courteous manner.
Manages
Welcome audience. Introduce the team & the subject. Inform
the meeting
audience of relevance / expertise of Speaker to subject of
Process 10
speech. Act as a conduit for the question & seek clarification if
required. Conclude the meeting.
Effective use of voice, clear enunciation, audibility, easy manner,
natural gestures, expression of personality, humour in the right
Delivery 10
context. Impact on and ability to involve the audience. Use of
notes.
Speaker Content of the speech and logic
Subject 10
Presents and
develops a
topic and Introduction: Get the audience to want to listen to the talk. Body
answers a of Talk: Develop the topic and demonstrate clear thinking. Use
Construct-
question 15 of, for example, illustrations & rhetorical questions. Conclusion:
ion
Draw threads together, summarise, give the final idea, thank the
audience for listening, sit down.
Clear, courteous answer to the question. Full but not unduly
Answer 15
wordy. Spontaneity.
Vote of Effective use of voice, clear enunciation, audibility, easy manner,
Thanks Delivery & natural gestures, expression of personality, humour in the right
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Process context. Give positive comments; give a clear signal for
Expresses applause. Use of notes.
the
Content & Refer to the content of the speech, picking out specific items.
appreciation
reference Comment on the Speaker’s answer to the question; include
of the 15
to the originality. Spontaneity
audience to
question Invite the audience to express their appreciation of the Speaker.
the Speaker
Team members should show appropriate attention to the team member speaking. Supportive comments or links between speeches.
Teamwork 15

Sub-Total
Refer to the timekeepers’ score sheet. Deduct _______________ Penalty Points = Total Score

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Briefing for Judges

Thank you for your support in agreeing to judge the Youth Speaks competition.

Provided for each judge, there will be the Information Pack, a set of marksheets (1 per team) and a copy of
the programme. (The Information Pack is the definitive document for the competition and the rules must
be followed by everyone involved.) At the end of the presentations, you will be given the timekeepers’
sheet with any time penalties recorded.

There will be a private area for you withdraw while you arrive at your judgements. No one else should be
present. Clarification on interpretation of the mark scheme will be provided by the District Youth Speaks
Officer on request, but the judgements are the judges’ responsibility alone.

The judges need to identify the winning intermediate and senior team. The heat organiser may further
request, at his or her discretion, the 2nd and 3rd place teams and/or Best Chair, Best Speaker, Best Vote of
Thanks. This needs to be clear before the competition starts.

It is a rule that “A Rotarian with no interest in the participating teams will review the scores to ensure
accuracy before the results are announced.” This will be the District Youth Speaks Officer or representative,
who should be called in by the judges once they are ready to give their judgements. Once the check has
been done, the results are ready to be announced.

The senior judge should give feedback are as follows.

“Adjudicators should give general constructive comments and advice which apply across all performances
and refrain from making comments about individuals or individual teams which are inappropriate,
detrimental or unacceptable in a public youth event. If teams or individual competitors request more
detailed feedback this should be done in the hearing of that individual or team only and be given as to be
helpful and positive in encouraging improvement in future. Organisers should provide a specific area where
such more detailed feedback can take place following the event. Individuals and teams should be reminded
to be courteous when receiving detailed comments from the adjudicator(s).”

Please remember to offer individual team feedback, particularly to the winners. This should be in private
and the teacher should be present.

Please give feedback which is consistent with the competition rules. The difficulty with judges giving a
personal view is that the next judge the team hears may have a different opinion. Teams and teachers get
upset when they receive conflicting advice from judges.

It is also a rule that “The judges will not discuss marks and their decision will be final.” Apart from the
judges themselves, only the checking Rotarian and the District Youth Speaks Officer get to see the scores.
Judges should direct any queries made to them about the results or marking to the District Youth Speaks
Officer, who will confirm to the questioner the official position that we do not discuss marks and that the
judges’ decision is final. However, this does not mean we ignore criticism. The “Guidance on marking” is
updated if necessary.

The last rule to point out is that “At the end of the competition, the organiser will collect the judges’ score
sheets which will be retained by the competition organiser for a minimum of 3 months.” Please return your
marksheets to the District Youth Speaks Officer. Please say if you want them returned when you hand them
in. The District Youth Speaks Officer holds these in confidence. The contents may be analysed to inform the
“Guidance on marking”.

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Guidance on marking

The Information Pack contains the definitive information on marking on pages 5 to 7 together with the
mark sheet on page 9. This section focusses on common issues. Quotations from the rules are indicated by
speech marks.

1. Team members should not be rewarded for substituting their allotted role with something easier.
Not everything that is said is eligible to be marked.

Youth Speaks is a public speaking competition for a team of three, each with a different role. A
proportion of the marks is for how fully the individual tasks are carried out. While speakers rarely fail
to fulfil their role, the Chair and the Proposer of the Vote of Thanks (PVoT for short) sometimes do.
This type of error can make a big difference to the marks. If the Chair or PVoT ignore part or even all of
their allotted roles and substitute something else, then that part of their speech should be ignored.

a) The Chair’s role is clear in the mark scheme.

“Process Welcome audience. Introduce the team & the subject. Inform audience of
relevance / expertise of Speaker to subject of speech. Act as a conduit for the question
& seek clarification if required. Conclude the meeting.”

The Chair may replace some or all of this with a mini speech of their own on the speaker’s topic. A mini
speech on the speaker’s topic is not part of the role and should be ignored. Neither the content nor the
delivery should be awarded marks.

b) The role of the PVoT is given in the mark sheet as follows

“Content & reference to the question Refer to the content of the speech, picking out
specific items. Invite the audience to express their appreciation of the Speaker.
Comment on the Speaker’s answer to the question; include originality. Spontaneity.”

The PVoT may also decide to do a mini speech on the speaker’s topic. In addition, the PVoT sometimes
decides to thank all and sundry, when their role is only to thank the speaker. Neither the content nor
the delivery should be awarded marks in either case.

2. The whole of the Chair’s performance should be taken into account, not just the initial timed section.
The Chair has a role throughout the presentation. “Act as a conduit for the question & seek clarification
if required. Conclude the meeting.” should also be marked.
“Business-like, yet courteous handling of the meeting. Maintain a good atmosphere with a calm &
courteous manner.” This also applies to the entire presentation.

3. Teams should not gain by leaving out the difficult, unscripted sections.

While the speaker can hardly avoid answering the question, the Chair may avoid “Act as a conduit for
the question & seek clarification if required.”, and the PVoT may avoid “Comment on the Speaker’s
answer to the question”. Judging “Effective use of voice, clear enunciation, audibility, easy manner”
needs to take this into account. These are difficult tasks and the Chair or PVoT may well be hesitant
and ill at ease when attempting them and lose marks as a result. To be fair, those who make no
attempt should lose more marks for delivery than those who make an imperfect attempt.
If the PVoT delivers a prepared comment which makes no reference to what the speaker actually said,
this counts the same as no attempt.

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4. Use of notes.

The Information Pack is clear that how notes are used should affect the marks given. This is what the
Information Pack says.

“Notes may be used. However, their use should not be too obvious - simply reading
written content will be reflected in the marks. Notes can be written on paper, card,
tablet or iPad. If electronic media is used for this purpose it must be used only as a
reminder of the content of the speech and not as a prop or as a live means of
presenting or sourcing information. Cards as prompts are better than A4 notes but
ideally teams should deliver the presentation without either.”

a) Regarding the point “simply reading written content will be reflected in the marks”, judges should
deduct a substantial penalty from the score for delivery of each team member who does this.
b) The above text from the Information Pack includes a hierarchy, with no notes as the ideal, cards as
prompts second and A4 notes third. (Consider iPads or tablets as the same as A4.)
c) When giving feedback to teams on the use of notes, judges should aim to be consistent with the
guidance in the Information Pack.

5. Disqualifying errors.
“A reminder that the team MAY NOT use props or enter into a dramatic performance as this is a public
speaking competition.” If this happens, the team can’t win.
6. Teamwork
a) Team members should pay attention to whoever is speaking. Not only should they be looking, their
expressions and reactions should show interest. Marks can be awarded to each team member on
how well this is done, up to 3 per team member, 9 marks in total.
b) Links between speeches, so that each one supports the others, are good examples of teamwork.
The chair may make a comment in the introduction, which is picked up and built on by the speaker
in the speech, which is again picked up in the vote of thanks. Comments supportive of other team
members may be included in speeches. (Up to 6 marks)

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Guidance for questioners

Thank you for agreeing to be a Questioner for Youth Speaks.

The questioner has one of the most difficult roles. You have to come up with a good question, while the
speaker is speaking, yet you might find the speaker answers it in his or her last sentence.

The question is very significant because the marks of both the Chair and the Speaker are directly affected by
how they deal with the question. The proposer of the Vote of Thanks also gains marks for commenting on
the speaker’s answer, so is also indirectly affected. At least one fifth of the team’s marks depend on the
question.

When the speaker has finished and sat down, the Chair should stand and invite the questioner to ask a
question. The Chair is supposed to “Act as a conduit for the question & seek clarification if required.” This
would involve repeating the question, possibly paraphrasing, and possibly seeking clarification.

 The question is to be addressed to the speaker through the Chair. The Chair gets marks for this so
don’t start speaking directly to the speaker and cut out the Chair
 The purpose of the question is to give the speaker the opportunity to speak extempore, and to show
his or her wider knowledge of the subject.
 Questions should be open, to allow a range of responses. This gives the speaker the chance to
demonstrate his/her knowledge and understanding of the subject.
 Questions should be clear and succinct. Multi-part questions should be avoided. Conditional clauses
should be avoided.
 Write the question down so it can be repeated precisely if asked.
 Have a reserve question in case the speaker answers your question in the last few sentences of his /
her speech. (Alternatively, a second questioner does this.)
 Prepare your question while the speaker is speaking.
 If you make some introductory comments to the question, it can be difficult for the Chair to tell
when the preamble ends and the question begins. Saying “my question is this” before you say it
helps make a clear division.
 The question must be sufficiently brief and straightforward so that the Chair can repeat it.
 Avoid potentially sensitive subjects such as party politics, race or religion.
 Consider the age range, Intermediate 11-13 or Senior 14-18, in relation to the language level and
difficulty of the question.

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Timekeeper’s Score Sheet

Enter the teams on the score sheet in order of performance. Please hand the completed sheet to the judges before they retire to make their
deliberations.

Switch on green and start the clock when the team member starts to speak.

Over running and under running of the allocated times will be penalised one point for every complete 15 seconds of over run or one point for
each complete thirty seconds of under run, for each team member. For example, for the Chairperson or Vote of Thanks, there is no penalty for
a time of 1:31 or 2:14, but times of 1:30 or 2:15 would each earn one penalty point.

Points will not be deducted from the speaker’s score for time in answering the question. Amber should be displayed after two minutes to
advise the speaker to end their answer.

Chairperson: Green light upon start.

Amber after 1.5 minutes
Red after 2 minutes

Speaker: Green light upon start, after introduction by the chairperson.

Amber after 5 minutes
Red after 6 minutes

Vote of Thanks: Green light upon start, after introduction by the chairperson.
Amber after 1.5 minutes
Red after 2 minutes

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Team Member Chairman Speaker Vote of Thanks
Time Allowed 2 minutes 6 minutes 2 minutes
Total
Team Time Deduction Time Deduction Time Deduction
Deduction

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 District Heat Checklist for Organisers

1. Club members are needed for the following roles

a. Club President (Welcome/Introduction, presenting certificates)
b. Master of Ceremonies
c. Timekeepers (2) (can double as reception)
d. Refreshments (tea, coffee, squash, water, biscuits) or arrange provision
e. Reception (check teams arrived) /Door/ Car Park – directing visitors
2. Non-club people needed
a. Questioner (Can’t be from any club sponsoring a team, doesn’t have to be a Rotarian)
b. Three judges (Can’t be Rotarians, try local public speaking club or ask District Officer. Check
judges have no connection with the teams or clubs involved.)
c. District Representative (for Vote of Thanks, presenting certificates)
3. Equipment
a. Red/Amber/Green lights and coloured cards in case bulbs fail. Stopwatches (2)
b. Name plates or cards: - Chairperson, Speaker, Vote of Thanks
4. Printing
a. Programme (Template available), Certificates (Template available)
b. Timekeepers score sheets (See pages 13,14)
c. Judges score sheets (See page 8)
d. Information Pack or judges’ guidance (pages 9-11) for each Judge (3 needed)
e. Questioner’s guidance (page 12)
5. Venue
a. Free venue such as the school you are sponsoring is ideal.
b. Seating for 50-100 (heats are usually nearer 50)
c. Table and 3 chairs for teams to present, table and 3 chairs for judges, table and 2 chairs for
timekeepers. Tables for refreshments. A separate room for judges to deliberate.
6. Date
a. Choose within a range of dates provided by the District Youth Speaks Coordinator. These are
chosen to avoid school holidays.
b. We also need to avoid having several heats on the same night. Schools need to be given a choice
of dates in case other school events clash.
7. Start time
a. Typical start times are from 5.30 to 7 p.m. Host club to decide.
8. Application
a. All teams must enter the competition using the District application form, sent to the District
Youth Speaks officer. The registration fee must be paid at the time of application.
b. Teams are allocated their choice of heat on a first come first served basis. For fairness, there is
no preferential treatment for entries from the host club. Be sure to enter your teams early.
c. It is unlikely but if there are insufficient entries, a heat may be cancelled, and any entered teams
dispersed to other heats, or if the entire competition is oversubscribed, we may need to go up to
9 or 10 teams per heat.
9. The host club will need to inform the schools of any specific details relating to their event. Contact
details will be provided by the District Youth Speaks Officer.
10. Important – Email the Information Pack well in advance to the judges and direct their attention to the
Briefing for Judges on pages 9-11. They are only required to identify the winners. If you want Best
Speaker, etc. you will need to tell them. Send email addresses of the judges to the District Youth Speaks
Officer for follow-up communication.

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Guidance for Sponsors

Encouraging new schools to participate

The ideal time to approach schools is in the summer term. We publish the programme in April, so it is ready
for clubs to promote. This gives time for the school to plan, working out how they will develop Youth Speaks
in the school. Contact and then information needs to go through school leaders, departments, teachers and
finally students and this takes time. It will take a teacher most of the Autumn term to prepare a team or
teams so that is why the summer term is when to start. In the Autumn term, schools can be persuaded to
take part but it’s luck if they have the time and resources to do so, and every week it takes to get started is
one less week to get the team ready.

Annual timetable

When YS Timetable Advice

April / May Competition  Sponsors need to decide if they wish to continue sponsorship for
details the following year.
published.  If they do, they should contact the school, offer their support and
The encourage participation in the competition.
competition  If not, they should contact the District Officer who will attempt a
opens for smooth transition to an alternative sponsor.
entries.
April – 1st Registration  Sponsors encourage schools to take part in the competition. This
December applies to new and existing sponsors and new and existing
schools.
 Encourage early registration. (We need schools to register early so
we can ensure we have the right number of heats. The school
needs to register early to get into their preferred heat.)
 Inform the District Officer if the school does not wish to
participate. If it is a temporary withdrawal, thank them for past
efforts and encourage them to try again next year. Renew contact
the following year.
From Schools  If a school registers, encourage the teacher and show appreciation
registration preparing of his/her efforts.
to February teams for  The club could invite the team to perform at a meeting if they and
the District the school think it helpful.
Heats  If the school has several teams, the sponsor could help them have
a practice competition. If the club needs advice on this, consult
the District Officer.
February District  A club member or members to attend if possible.
Heats  Win or lose, show appreciation of the team’s and teacher’s
efforts.
March District  If circumstances prevent a team participating, it has still involved
Finals hours of extra work for the teacher and team members. Please
show appreciation, commiserate, and encourage them to try
Grand Final again next year.
 Write to the Head/Governors praising the team’s and teacher’s
efforts.
 Publicise school’s participation.
 Reward students in some way
 Possibly travel expenses are an issue. See if the school needs help.

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Youth Speaks – A Brief History in District 1285

The earliest record was an announcement in the 1987 Bury local press of a public speaking
competition run by Bury Rotary and the first District Final took place in 1988, which makes ours one
of the longest running competitions in the country. Bury Rotary led the group of Rotary Clubs until
2003 and then Frodsham & Helsby Rotary took over until the present day. In 2015 Rotary District
1050 merged with District 1280 to form 1285. District 1050 had its own Youth Speaks competition
and their supporting clubs also joined the group. There were 23 clubs supporting teams last year.
The competition continued on Zoom during the pandemic and has never missed a year. Winners
names are engraved on the District Shields so there is a nearly complete record.

Year Senior Intermediate

Farraday Challenge Shield
1988 St Patrick's RC H S, Eccles
1989 Moorside High School, Swinton
1990 Oldham Hulme G S for Boys
1991 Leigh College
1992 St Mary’s High School, Leigh
1993 St Gabriel’s H S, Bury
1994 Bury Grammar School Girls
1995 Westhoughton High School
1996 Wigan & Leigh College
1997 St Gabriel's Roman Catholic High School, Bury
1998 St Ninian’s High School, Isle of Man
1999 Westhoughton High School
2000 St Gabriel's Roman Catholic High School, Bury
2001 St Gabriel's Roman Catholic High School, Bury
2002 St Gabriel's Roman Catholic High School, Bury
2003 Culcheth College
2004 Shield not engraved, record lost Henshaw Challenge Shield
2005 St Mary’s High School Westleigh High School
2006 Bury Grammar School Girls St. Mary's Catholic High School
2007 St Gabriel’s H S, Bury Hulme Grammar School for Girls
2008 Bury Grammar School Girls Westhoughton High School
2009 Bury Grammar School Girls (new shield) Abraham Guest High School
2010 Bury Grammar School Girls Abraham Guest High School
2011 Bury Grammar School Girls Standish Community High School
2012 Tower College Shevington High School
2013 Tower College St Peter’s Catholic High School
2014 Bury Grammar School Girls St Peter’s Catholic High School
2015 Tower College Westhoughton High School
2016 Loreto College (first District 1285 Final) Shevington High School
2017 Ladybridge High School St Peter’s Catholic High School
2018 Tower College Falinge Park High School
2019 Wilmslow High School Tytherington School

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As team numbers increased two finals in each tier became necessary. The first year of Double Finals
was 2020.

Year Senior Intermediate

Farraday Challenge Shield Henshaw Challenge Shield
2020 Bedford High School Bedford High School
2021 Not awarded - only one final in 2021 (Covid) Not awarded - only one final in 2021 (Covid)
2022 All Hallows Catholic College Oldham Hulme Grammar School
2023 Fallibroome Academy Oldham Hulme Grammar School
The Wendy Sutcliffe Shield (Senior) The Warren Heyes Shield (Intermediate)
2020 St Peter’s Catholic High School Tytherington School
2021 St Peter’s Catholic High School Bedford High School
2022 Fallibroome Academy Tytherington School
2023 Wilmslow High School All Hallows Catholic College

The number of teams entered was increasing rapidly until the pandemic struck. We got back on
track in 2023, the most teams ever competing
District 1050
The only surviving record we have is of the
2015 winners.
Intermediate Champions Cheadle Hulme
High School and St Nicholas Catholic High
School
Senior Champions Alderley Edge School
for Girls and All Hallows Catholic College

If anyone has any more information,

please email ys@fhrotary.org.uk

Youth Competitions
The Rotary Youth Speaks competition is one of several competitions organised by Rotary for young
people. They are Young Chef, Young Musician, Young Photographer, Young Writer, Youth Speaks,
Youth Speaks A Debate, the Young Citizens Awards and the Technology Tournament. To find out
more about these competitions and other opportunities please contact your local Rotary club,
which can be found at https://www.rotarygbi.org/club-finder/

Working with Children

Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland has adopted this statement of policy for working
with children, the vulnerable and those with disability:
The needs and rights of the child, the elderly, the vulnerable and those with disability take priority.
It is the duty of every Rotarian to safeguard to the best of their ability, the welfare of and prevent
the physical, sexual or emotional abuse and neglect of all children, the elderly, persons with
disability or otherwise vulnerable persons with whom they come into contact during their Rotarian
duties.

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