VCAA Plain English Speaking Award Competition

On the 18th May, Girton welcomed four speakers from across central Victoria to represent their schools in the famed Plain English Speaking Awards (PESA) competition. Run by the VCAA, this year’s competition was the first since 2019, with 2020’s competition being cancelled due to COVID-19.

Eliza Sullivan (12 Jones) represented Girton against two Braemar College students and one Echuca College representative.  Eliza spoke brilliantly and was awarded runner up. There is also a chance that she will be awarded a ‘Wild Card’ entry into the State Semi-Final because the standard of competition in this Regional Final was so high.  The adjudicators took nearly thirty minutes to award the placings, as each of the four competitors were well-prepared and engaging speakers.

The speakers were given 6 minutes to present a prepared speech on a topic of choice. The speeches covered a wide variety of topics from ‘Rural Health’ to ‘Wealth Distribution’, with a discussion of ‘President Trump’s legacy’ and ‘Face-to-Face Communication’ along the way. 

After that, the contestants and audience enjoyed a morning tea, and then the speakers were given an impromptu topic of “Feeling Lucky”.  Each speaker had four minutes to prepare for their impromptu speech before speaking for 2-3 minutes.

Mr Langan organised the event in partnership with the VCAA.  The VCAA Adjudicator was Shelley Markham, herself an ex-Girtonian, and Marlene Sinclair from Toast Masters. They were aided by three members of the Public Speaking Club; Erlin Thomas (10 Riley), Grace Jemmett (10 Jones) and Remus Brasier (10 Millward), who did an excellent job of hosting, timekeeping and fulfilling the role of Master of Ceremonies for the event.

Mr Scott Langan