EIGHT teams of speakers took part in the first round of the annual Rotary Youth Speaks competition in Sidmouth.

EIGHT teams took part in the first round of the annual Rotary Youth Speaks Competition at Sidmouth, with one of four teams from St Nicholas Junior School winning the Junior event.

Parents, children, relatives and Rotarians, along with Inner Wheel Club members who served refreshments, cheered on the teams from St Nicks, and two teams each from Sidmouth College and The King’s School, Ottery St Mary at St John Ambulance hall.

It was the team of Alice Dell, Tilly Wardrop and Jessica Phillips who triumphed in the junior section (under 11) with Tilly giving a splendid speech on Olympics – Good for Britain?

Close behind was Shalom Solman, Isobella Reed and Darija Rowland-Smith speaking on Human Responsibility to Endangered Species.

Dr James Lynch, Tanya Rees and David Powell adjudicated the event with chairman Dr Lynch praising the performance and high standard of the young pupils.

In the Intermediate section (11-13) Sidmouth’s winning team of Adam Loker, Saseen Kay and Matthew Ogley made an entertaining speech on Health and Safety, beating Katherine Morton, Lauren French and Paris Millmow, talking about the abuse of the 999 system by superfluous calls.

Unfortunately the team could no progress to the next round in Exmouth and a third team, from King’s, took their place.

In the Senior section only one team, from King’s, competed and went through to the next round after an impassioned speech by Chloe Sparkes on The Under-Representation of Female Sport on Television.

Disappointingly, in the second round at Exmouth, none of the Sidmouth teams could beat formidable opposition by teams from Exmouth College and the Culm Valley Young Farmers.