VCAA Plain English Speaking Awards

On 28 May, Berwick Grammar School had the privilege of attending the regional round of the VCAA Plain English Speaking Awards (PESA). This elite competition is reserved for the most skilled and accomplished high school public speaking enthusiasts from Government, Independent and Catholic schools across Victoria.

A major point of difference in this competition, is that students are encouraged to write a prepared speech, without a prompt, on a topic or issue that they feel passionate about. This passion was reflected in the high-quality speeches presented by all students present on the day.

Students were also invited to present an impromptu speech, where they had four minutes to prepare a response to the prompt ‘Hit a bullseye.’ It was extraordinary seeing the diverse responses that came from this broad phrase, with each speaker’s response notably original and unique.

The adjudicators were faced with some difficult decisions, with remarkably strong speeches presented. It took the two expert judges over half an hour to deliberate and determine the regional winner.

Oliver Ward (Intermediate Enrichment Captain) and Kaelan Dekker (Year 12 Enrichment Captain) proudly represented Berwick Grammar at this event. Both boys contributed an admirable performance, and Kaelan Dekker was awarded 2^nd Best Overall Speaker. While narrowly missing out, we look forward to improving on this success next year, as two more speakers are given the chance to test the limits of their speaking ability.

Mr Sean Pieper
my Summit- Co-Cultural Coordinator