Students dish out a good talking to (From Andover Advertiser)

Students dish out a good talking to

9:40am Friday 29th January 2010

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A CAPTIVATED audience was given a good talking to by students on Monday night, and there was not a murmer of protest.

This was the annual Youth Speaks competition, organised by the Rotary Club of Andover and again held at Harrow Way School, which saw teams from Harrow Way, John Hanson and Rookwood schools compete for a place in the next round.

And it proved to be one of the closest contests of recent years, with a high standard of research and presentation of subjects as diverse as Internet safety, Temptation and Pressure and GCSEasy.

First to the floor in the Intermediate Section was Rookwood Team Two with a probe into the darker side of nursery rhymes. There were insights into the gruesome origins of silver bells, which were thumbscrews, and maids, which referred to a decapitation device in the middle ages.

John Hanson Team One turned in a winning performance by questioning whether honesty really was always the best policy, and put up a convincing, and somewhat tongue in cheek argument that there was a case for ‘low level white lies’, such as Santa, the tooth fairy and maintaining marital harmony in the wake of questions such as ‘Does my bum look big in this’?

Closing this section was Rookwood Team One with a searching presentation on Teenage Turbulence. The talk focussed on the effects of violent video games, obesity and gang culture, exploring the possibilities of using gang-style groups constructively.

In the Senior Section Harrow Way fielded three teams with two from Rookwood School.

Harrow Way Two examined the aspects of Internet safety, with hackers invading home computers as well as the recent cases of cyber bullying and emphasised the need for child safety restrictions.

Harrow Way One’s journey into the difficulties of Loss of Childhood took the audience on a trip into the world of peer pressure, broken homes and underage sex, while Rookwood Two asked Should the Law Bite the Bullet?

This was an in-depth view of whether the law is too soft on gun and knife crime and the dangerous effects of violent computer games.

Harrow Way Three delved into the realms of Temptation and Pressure, condemning the use of drugs in sport and offering the awful prospect of bearded women and men with breasts appearing in 2012! And the Internet possibilities for exam cheats were also exposed.

Rookwood One brought the presentations to a close and clinched the senior contest with a defence of the GCSE exams that have been cheapened by media headlines claiming they had been dumbed down.

The point that successful athletes aren’t greeted with comments about shortened tracks argued that students who are working harder and more successfully should be praised accordingly.

This year’s judges, faced with the tough task of selecting which teams go forward to the next round at Salisbury on Saturday, were Test Valley Mayor Cllr Ian Hibberd, Andover Advertiser editor Joe Scicluna and Rotary Club president David Moulton.

Results: Intermediate Section Winning team – John Hanson Best speaker – Sam Taylor (John Hanson) Best chairperson – Sophie Compton (Rookwood One) Best proposer – Kiri Thompson (Rookwood Two) Senior Section Winning team – Rookwood One Best speaker – Daniel Falcone (Harrow Way One) Best chairperson – Jade White (Rookwood One) Best proposer – Jamie Mulhall (Rookwood One) Timekeeper was John Powell MC was John Ray.

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