Debating and Public Speaking

Plain English Speaking success

Northcote High recently hosted the state heats for the VCAA Plain English Speaking Award competition. The PESA competition involves two representative students from each school presenting a prepared speech on an issue of their choosing using plain language without academic or technical jargon. Northcote was represented by two Year 11 students - PJ Burgemeister and Zara Baglioni. PJ spoke on the issue of fake news and passionately promoted the Northcote Model subject of ‘Conspiracy Theories’ as an example of how schools can and should be teaching critical thinking skills. Zara spoke on the importance of whistle-blower protections.  

The second aspect of the PESA competition is an impromptu speech. This year the impromptu topic was ‘with every ending comes a new beginning’. Students only had four minutes to prepare a three minute response to the topic. All competitors from all schools did exceptionally well given the difficulty of the challenge. I am particularly pleased to say that NHS student Zara Baglioni was awarded first place by the independent VCAA judges in the state heat and will now represent Northcote at the state finals. Go Zara! 

Elliot Wall