On Tuesday afternoon this week, the Second Year TED Talk competition came to a conclusion with six boys speaking passionately on an exciting range of topics. They had previously presented their talks during form time, with their classmates voting on who should go through to the competition final.
This activity forms part of their resilience programme which runs throughout the year, challenging the boys to confidently face up to a range of activities which could be daunting.
Mr Saville, Head of Second Year and one of the judges, said, “The quality of the speeches this year was very high, covering sport, science, and politics. All students were highly commended by Mr Kennedy (Head Judge), with joint second place being awarded to Jamie in 2M for his talk on ‘Is deep sea exploration worth the risk?’ and to Ben in 2T with ‘Should orcas be released from captivity?’.
“The winner of this year’s competition was Fin in 2S who spoke on ‘Does POTUS have too much power?’ with interesting consideration of several contentious contemporary issues. Mr Kennedy was particularly impressed by how Fin engaged with the visuals behind him, and how he spoke fluidly without notes. It was fantastic to see, from all of the finalists, the confidence with which they spoke in front of a crowd, which would be an example to many a public figure today. Well done to everyone.”
Finn said, “I chose my topic because to be honest I was stuck for ideas and decided to do something that was quite relevant in the news at that time. I enjoyed researching it and finding out about the electoral systems of the UK and America. I really enjoyed the process of it but also it was a bit weird because I didn’t think anyone would like my topic because it is politics and that can be pretty dull! I definitely developed some speaking skills and the ability to move around the stage during the process of the Ted Talks. I enjoyed the public speaking and the freedom on the stage that talking about a topic of your choice allows you. All in all, it felt really good to win as it was something I enjoyed doing thoroughly.”
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