SCHOOLS from across York lined up against each other as part of a city-wide speaking contest.

In total pupils from seven schools went head-to-head in the York Civic Trust (YCT) Public Speaking Competition 2017.

The champions this year were the duo from St Wilfrid’s RC primary in Monkgate, Ruby Harrison and Freddie Thornton with their chosen subject: York Minster is world famous but is it the lesser known buildings that tell York’s story?

Handing out the prizes was the Lord Mayor of York, Cllr Barbara Boyce, who shared with the children and audience reflections on her own school years at Haxby Road in York.

She said: “I feel the quality of the presentations mean that all the participants would go on to achieve great things including if they want to one day become Lord Mayor themselves!”

York Press:

The event was held at Merchant Adventurers’ Hall before an audience of parents, teachers and members of YCT.

This was the fifth annual Primary Public Speaking Competition organised by YCT to promote primary school children’s interest in the history and culture of our city, particularly its people and buildings.

The event also provides an opportunity for older primary school children to develop public speaking skills.

This year second place went to Naburn’s team Lily Anderson and Esme Kirkby with the team from Knavesmire, Hannah Baxter and Seth Roodhouse coming in third and the runners up were Lord Deramore’s team of Andrew Seavers and Clara Alsop-Wood.

The schools taking part this year were Clifton Green, Copmanthorpe, Dringhouses, Knavesmire, Lord Deramore’s, Naburn, Scarcroft and St Wilfrid’s RC.

This year’s topics from which the teams could select one to speak to were:

• Have rivers or railways had the most influence on the history of York?

• York has a long history with various ‘ages’ – Roman, Viking, medieval, Georgian, Victorian. If you had a time machine to go back in time, what ‘age’ would you want to stop in?

• Is York best known for its heroes or its villains of the past?

• It was much better to be a Viking boy than a Viking girl in Viking York?

• York Minster is world famous but it is the lesser known buildings which tell York’s story

All the children who took part got a certificate and pass to Fairfax House while members of the winning team also got a £25 book token as well as a trophy – an obelisk in English oak to display in the school.