06/10: Junior Public Speaking Competition In an atmosphere of excitement and just a little apprehension from the participants, the third Junior Reading Competition took place in the Music School on a beautiful October day. On the stage were twelve children from Years 3 to 5, who after some testing auditions during their English lessons, had successfully made it to the final.
The first round was a selection of readings from The BFG, Mr. Gum and The Big Blue Whale. All the children read with astonishing confidence, engaging the audience with their clear understanding and expressive interpretation of the text. The three Year 3 girls transported us into the realms of whale life with their quiet renditions, the Year 4 team very ably horrified us with the terrible habits of Mr. Gum and the BFG was brought to life by the mature and thoughtful readings of Year 5.
At this point in the proceedings we paused so that Mrs. Coe, our very welcome judge, could gather her thoughts before we began the poetry round. Again, we could only marvel at the clarity with which a selection of poems (some of which were rather tricky on the tongue!) was read by one and all. Now came the moment when Mrs. Coe would have to make the big decision; who would be the winner of the Coe Plate for 2009? After a little deliberation Mrs. Coe was delighted to award the plate to Patrick Buscall, who had impressed her with his clear reading and his obvious appreciation of the content of the texts. Congratulations to Patrick and to all the other children who took part in the competition. Many thanks too, to the very supportive audience of pupils, teachers and parents. Very special thanks go to Bobbie Coe, who judged the competition with such thought and care, and inspired all the children with the confidence to do their best.
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