Erle Nash-Williams from Year 10 opened the event with his speech, which highlighted the importance of events such as this in preserving our humanity, as “no platform means no free speech and no free speech means no humanity.”

The year 7s and 8s showed amazing levels of talent, especially as all of them had entered the competition for the first time. Although they all impressed the judges, Patrick Whitehead and Zoe Carter from Year 7 won for Phoenix House with their speech highlighting the examples of humanity here at Trinity.  Victoria and Eleanor Hayton won the intermediate round for Dragon House with their speech asking us to consider the choices we make, and how they can affect those around us. Finally, Megan Marcham and Ellie Randall won the senior competition by asking us to think about what makes us human and how we respond to others, and by doing so ensured that Phoenix House won the House Speeches competition.