Primary Pupils Find Their Voice as Dartmouth Academy Triumphs at Youth Speaks

Primary pupils from Dartmouth Academy, part of Education South West, celebrated an outstanding evening of success at the Rotary Youth Speaks competition, held at Stoke Fleming Village Hall this month.

The Rotary Youth Speaks competition is designed to develop public speaking, teamwork and critical thinking skills. 

The event showcased the talent, confidence and commitment of pupils from local schools, with teams delivering researched and thought-provoking speeches on a range of topical issues. Other schools taking part included Stoke Fleming Primary School and Blackawton Primary School.

Dartmouth Academy enjoyed exceptional success on the night. The Junior 1 team, made up of Year 6 pupils Mia-Rose M, Thea C and William H, were crowned overall winners for their compelling and well-argued speech on “A Social Media Ban for Children Under 16”. Their presentation impressed judges with its clear structure, strong research and confident delivery.

The achievements continued with individual awards for the Junior 2 team. Oakley F was named Best Overall Chairperson and Sienna S received the award for Best Overall Speaker for her outstanding performance. The Junior 2 team’s speech, titled “How Useful Is AI?”, demonstrated thoughtful analysis and teamwork, with Evan C delivering an excellent Vote of Thanks.

The school would also like to thank Dartmouth Rotary Club Chairperson Robert Benns for organising and hosting the event, which continues to provide valuable opportunities for young people to develop public speaking skills. Dartmouth Academy was honoured to have Dartmouth’s Mayor, Councillor Andrea Cates, on the judging panel and is grateful to the Rotary Club for their continued support and for generously donating book token prizes to the winners.

Jennifer Tierney, Primary Principal at Dartmouth Academy, said: “We are incredibly proud of our pupils and the confidence, curiosity and ambition they demonstrated on stage. Their success reflects not only their hard work, but the emphasis we place on communication, critical thinking and giving pupils the confidence to express their ideas clearly and respectfully.”

Matthew Shanks, CEO of Education South West said: “Congratulations to all the pupils who took part in the Rotary Youth Speaks competition. Their passion, teamwork, and ability to present complex ideas with clarity is truly inspiring. Events like this highlight the talent and potential in our schools and show just how much our young people can achieve when given the opportunity and support to shine.”