Grey Coat 10 Jack Petchey 'Speak Out' challenge


The sixth Jack Petchey ‘Speak Out’ Challenge Regional final: Westminster & RBKC was held on Thursday, 1st December, at St Augustine's Church of England School where Mr Moriarty was delighted to welcome competitors and their families to the occasion and to admire the school's new facilities. Though two schools were belatedly unable to participate, those speakers who did deliver were described as "amazing" by Karen Buck, the MP for North Westminster.


The competition began with Paddington Academy's Olivia Sesay Murray communicating her thoughts on the 'Power of Words', especially those written by Shakespeare and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The evening proceeded via praise from Gian Morais from St George's for the inventiveness of the late Steve Jobs. The audience was entertained when Holland Park's Syed Mohammed Shuaib announced, in 'National Pride', that in Bangladesh he would be leading a cultural revolution to eliminate the imitation there of the worst programmes on UK television. "Even if no one could buy a Bengali car at least they would no longer be watching 'The Bangla Factor'". Another memorable


moment occurred as Kenza Bensissi from Sion Manning considered, in 'You are Beautiful', the human tendency to criticise one's own appearance. Kenza illustrated her point by asking her father to stand up so that the audience could view his lack of hair.


Whilst diverse material was delivered, the subject chosen by GCH representative, Ketsia Mukumbay, proved to be a very popular topic. By the time Ketsia (the 14th of 16 competitors) came to address the audience, three other students - all in the second half of the programme - had already spoken about the August riots. Fully aware of but undaunted by this fact, Ketsia is to be commended for delivering her view that "the media has led older people to see the young as a potential threat, as future rioters". Ketsia maintained the flow of her thought with reference to Father Swinton's sermon at Westminster Abbey on Sunday, 6th November, when he urged the congregation to 'Listen to Youth'. After reminding her listeners that "the young are the future of this country", Ketsia finished positively by declaring her wish "to create buildings, not to destroy them".


Despite a commendable performance, Ketsia did not receive a prize. In reverse order, the awards were handed out by Karen Buck who congratulated all of the speakers on their courage in addressing such a large audience. In third place, from St Marylebone, was Lauren Ellis who spoke fervently of her wish to have lived in 'The Eighties'. Second, from Quintin Kynaston, was Kenyetta Imora whose imitation of a sheep provided an amusing opening to her message not to follow the herd. The winner, Westminster Academy's Soumaya Difallah, had explained that photography, in providing the means of making time stand still and recalling past joys in full force, was her equivalent of Peter Pan's Neverland.


In addition to a couple of musical interludes, the audience watched a video depicting the work of the Jack Petchey Foundation which has given £65 million to UK citizens whether for projects such as the 'Step into Dance' programme or on working with those with a disability. The motto of the foundation is, "If you think you can, you can".


Ms McMellan Issue 18: December 2011


Mace debating competition


Students from four schools gathered in the St Andrew's Chapel on Tuesday, 6th December, for the First Round of the English-Speaking Union's Mace Debating Competition. The first motion, 'This House would make parents liable for serious crimes committed by their children' was proposed by Pimlico Academy and opposed by Queen's Gate School. The second motion, 'This House would make post-mortem organ donation compulsory without exception' was proposed by GCH and opposed by St Paul's Girls' School. Staunch supporters


from The Grey Coat Debating Society and other members of the audience ensured that comments and questions were raised for the competitors to deal with in their summary speeches.


The Adjudication Panel, drawn from The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, The Ministry of Defence & St Saviour's and St Olave's congratulated all the speakers on the quality of their speeches. In addition to being reminded of the need to be persuasive and to be themselves, debaters were reminded to


limit their quotations from J.S. Mill and other philosophers. Stylistically, debaters were told to speak slowly, clearly and compellingly and to ensure that each member of the team had the opportunity to make an equal contribution to the argument. We wish the teams from Queen's Gate School and St Paul's Girls' School success in the next round.


Ms McMellan


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