Students of a Greenford high school are celebrating their third successive win as west London champions in a public speaking competition.
The Cardinal Wiseman Youth Speaks team, made up of year 10 pupils Ciara Gibbs, 15, Benjamin Shipman, 15, and Francis Lali, 14, won the west London final on February 25 at senior level, having competed and won the intermediate section for the previous two years.
The three winners went on to the London District Final on February 28 at the City of London School, St. Pauls, where Ciara won best chairperson, Frances reaped the title of best speaker, and Benjamin was labelled best 'vote of thanks' speaker.
They also won Best Senior Team, for competitors with an age range of 14-17.
Cardinal Wiseman's heroes' next step is to battle in the South of England Regional Finals on March 21.
The school said Ciara confidently and entertainingly introduced the speakers and the topic of time to the audience, Benjamin stood out with his articulate, humorous and persuasive main speech about the value of time and how we should cherish it, and Francis was also superb in his role.
The team received praise from the judges at both the West London Area and District Finals, who commented on their outstanding public speaking skills, use of humour and co-operation as a team.
English teacher Katie Milosovic said: “Having been narrowly defeated at Regional Final in 2014, the team are practising hard in the hope that they will get through to the National Youth Speaks Final in May 2015, which would be an outstanding achievement.
"We are extremely proud of Ciara, Ben and Francis and wish them lots of luck in the next round. ”
