Each year, Rotary Monmouth organises the Youth Speaks competition in which the senior schools in the town compete against each other using their debating skills. The winning team goes through to the District competition and, in the past, local teams have made it to the national finals.

Following on from the success of this competition and in conjunction with the staff at Raglan Primary School, Thursday saw the first ever Junior Youth Speaks competition, organised by Rotary Monmouth. All pupils in Raglan Primary School’s Years 5 and 6 had spent some time preparing for this event. They had considered, debated and researched the topic of ‘What Diversity Means to Me’. On the day, in groups of two, three or four, they presented their ideas and thoughts to an audience of Years 3,4,5 and 6, to parents, to governors and to Rotarians.

The standard of the presentations was high and the pupils were judged on aspects of their work such as the quality of their delivery, their understanding of the topic and their teamwork. The three judges then had the difficult task of choosing, from the 51 pupils who took part, the runners-up and the winners. There were certificates and prizes for all.

This pilot event proved to be a great success. All pupils embraced and enjoyed the challenge, gaining confidence and supporting each other. The competition will be held again next year and the school’s Headteacher, Mrs Sue Marles hopes that other local primary schools within the cluster will become involved. Rotary Monmouth will continue to support this initiative and to help Mrs Marles in her quest to extend the participation.

Anyone wishing to know more about this event or about Rotary Monmouth should visit the Rotary Monmouth website.