LOCAL pupils were among the winners of Newry, Mourne and Down Council’s annual Youth Speak competition.
The awards ceremony was held recently at Warrenpoint Town Hall to present prizes to the winners of the fun public speaking competition organised annually by the local authority to encourage debate on sustainability issues.
Awards were presented by council chairman Michael Savage who said he was delighted to hand over the prizes to the “gifted young speakers”.
He said the pupils’ speeches were well rehearsed and excellently presented and that they should all be very proud of being selected as winners.
“The judges and I were very impressed by how knowledgeable each of the young people discussed an issue that affects us all. Managing waste and maximising what we recycle is something we must all take very seriously,” said Cllr Savage.
The competition challenges primary and secondary school pupils to present their views to a panel of judges on an environmentally themed topic.
In the junior section, this year’s topic was ‘I’m a Climate Change Champion and my mission is to stop the world from getting hotter’ while the topic for the seniors’ was ‘Food Glorious Food. How Fighting Food Waste Helps the Planet’, to speak on.
Each of the schools submitted their pre-recorded speeches for the judging panel to review with Joseph Manley from St Joseph’s Primary in Carnacaville chosen as this junior winner.
The winner of the senior category was Grace Grimley from Newry’s Sacred Heart Grammar.
Runners-up in the junior section included Alice McAlister from Ballynahinch’s St Patrick’s Primary School.