On Friday 10th November, 12 pupils competed in the House Public Speaking Competition. Competitors were divided into the three key stages, and each chose their own topic. We had a particularly wide range of interesting and pertinent topics this year, including 'Hilary Rodham Clinton: a tragedy'; 'Should we Privatise the Rail Companies?'; 'Scouting'; 'How We Can Make Brexit Work' and 'Is the UK Important in the World Anymore?' The standard seems to rise each year we run the competition and this year the speakers really captivated their listeners with well-researched and carefully crafted oratory. Mr Will Marks, History teacher and internationally experienced debater, judged the competition. Westgate House was overall victor, with Faizaan Pervaiz (Westgate) winning the KS5 section, James Thompson (Westgate) KS4, and Samuel Kane (Southgate) topping the board for KS3. A huge well done to all competitors for their polished performances.