Rutherford's Youth Speaks

Pictured above; the 2024 winning Leys team with President Simon Durrant

In November 2024, Rutherford's 31st Youth Speaks debating competition took place between local sixth formers in Queens’ College, Cambridge. Each year, schools and colleges located in and around the city are encouraged by Rutherford Rotary to send teams to debate in the Fitzpatrick Hall at Queens’. This year was exceptional, with a record number of seven schools/colleges taking part. Yet again, the well drilled and finely tuned team from the Rutherford Vocational Committee delivered a truly enjoyable evening in the excellent facilities of Queens' College, ensuring a tasty buffet spread, good wine and of course, lively student debates.

With seven participating teams there was some concern before the event that it might be a rather long drawn out evening. But far from it, Richard Wells in the chair (photo above) kept the pace up, seamlessly moving each debate on to the next with carefully measured timing for the judges to determine their scores. The previously well-established teams from the Perse School and Kings Ely were back, so were the Leys and Stephen Perse. The 2023 winners, Impington College were there hoping to repeat their performance from last year. Also, the Oaks (Netherhall). Chesterton Community College, hoping that experience might provide an advantage, entered a team with two participants from the previous year, who were then lower sixth formers.

For some years, Anna Divito, Head of English at The Leys has ensured that a well-rehearsed and practiced team of sixth formers has entered Youth Speaks. This year she played a blinder, entering a team comprising of members of the School Law Society, all budding lawyers presenting the debate ‘This House Would be Prepared To Break The Law’. They had been well schooled in the art of debating by Anna. Somi Momoh as chairperson set the scene, presenting the context in which the debate would take place. Jonathan Song then, very impressively and without referencing any notes, addressed the audience directly, presenting circumstances in which he would be prepared to break the law. He sited recent UK legislation, the 2022 Police Act and the 2023 Public Order Act as, potentially having restricted his right as a citizen to express an opinion and participate in public demonstration.

Tife Yoloye countered his arguments, siting the need to uphold the rule of law, citizens’ rights were secure within our legislative framework. The arguments on both sides were excellently presented and very compelling. Sufficiently so to just push them over the line and beat their fellow competitors. Runners up must have included Chesterton with a debate on Censorship of Extremist Politicians, and Impington who exposed some of the issues around environment protection and our obligations as custodians. Our judges had their work cut out to determine the final winning team

The judges comprised of Professor Jackie Scott, who is a Life Fellow at Queens’ College, our generous event sponsor, Rebecca Cole, Director - Coles Accountancy, Cambridge and N’Gadie Roberts, Adult and Paediatric Clinical Audiologist at angli-EAR. Our fellow Rutherford Rotarian Trevor Chapman very kindly sponsored the event and he also proposed N’Gadie as a suitable member of the judging panel. Our thanks to the judges for their carefully constructed rationale behind their choice of winning team and a special thanks to N’Gadie who provided an erudite summary of this to the audience.

Personally, I find it extremely rewarding to witness young sixth formers confidently presenting carefully constructed and strong arguments in a debate. For me this emphasises how important it is for Rotary to give students the opportunity to become confident public speakers.

Martin Tyson (Chairman Vocational Committee)