A youth public speaking competition is coming to this year’s Heywood Literary Festival, offering young people a platform to share their voices.
The Heywood Literary Festival, the Westbury Rotary, and Matravers School are joining forces to bring the esteemed Rotary Youth Speaks competition to this year’s festival.
The Youth Speaks competition, known for encouraging confidence and public speaking skills, will take place in the Jacobean Main Hall of Heywood House during the Heywood Literary Festival, which runs on 18th and 19th October.
Elizabeth Webbe, Chair of the Westbury Rotary, said, “The Rotary is delighted to again run the Youth Speaks competition, this time at the incredible Heywood House Jacobean Main Hall. We’re passionate about this competition and encouraging the next generation to have the confidence to speak publicly.”
Participating students will also receive tickets to see Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey speak live, ahead of their own competition at 5pm on Sunday 19th October.
Ryan Child, Festival Director, said, “The link between extra-curricular arts, schools, and events like this are sparse to say the least, so I’m passionate about supporting this project.”
Samantha Hayward-Schnitzer, driving the project at Matravers School, added, “It’s so important to give our students the opportunity to have experiences and challenges like this, so we’re looking forward to preparing loads and competing in October. For the students to see a Booker Prize winner speak on the same day is also really brilliant.”
More information about the Youth Speaks competition can be found on the Rotary website, and full details and tickets for the Heywood Literary Festival are available at heywoodhousetalks.co.uk.
