Recently three young students from Golborne High School visited the Rotary Club of Newton-Le-Willows.

It was in November 2007 the three students together with teams from other schools entered the Youth Speaks competition organised by the Rotary Club of Newton-Le-Willows.

They were visiting together with their parents, teachers, Rotarians and guests to present probably their final rendition of the subject which won them the Youth Speaks competition.

On winning the Intermediate section of the competition the team and their winning subject “Are the youth of today growing up to fast” started them on their journey to London. They progressed through the Zone rounds, the District Final and the Region 7 final. The National final was held on Sunday 27th April 2008 at the prestigious London City School for Boys. An impressive school location on the north bank of the Thames with St Paul’s Cathedral at it rear.

The three students were Anna Hamilton (the chairperson) who is a very talented linguist, obtaining A grade GCSE in French. Larner Taylor (the main speaker) is a budding actress and she has already appeared in the ITV 1 series Blue Murder with Caroline Quentin. Greg Wilde (vote of thanks) is a keen sportsman and has attended various rugby camps to enhance his skills. All of the students take part in many interests of the school activities.

The teams in the final, who came from all over the country were at a very high standard and all gave an excellent account of themselves and their subject matter. The event was well supported this year, so much so that seats were at a premium.

The judges agreed that all the teams’ performances were of a high standard of presentation and performance. They were of course the best teams from over the country, all worthy to be representing their various areas in the final stages of this competition. This made it difficult for the judges in there deliberation.

However, the team who came 1st was The Bulmershe School, Reading. 2nd Peniel Academy, Chelmsford and 3rd The Castle School, Taunton. The awards were presented by Cherie Blair who was also the senior judge. All team members received certificates for their school portfolios and framed photographs as a memento of the day.

Sometimes young people are portrayed in a bad light but the media should see and hear what these young people can do. They are a credit to themselves, their school, there peers and show that they are concerned about matters of health and lives of young people in the community.

The team felt that although they had other school curriculum activities which took a lot of hard work and time, they had enjoyed the experience which they felt had helped to developed their own personal characters. The Rotary Club was proud to have sponsored the team.