ANELE Mnguni, Bandiswa Gumede and Zibusiso Dlamini from Queensburgh High School were selected by the Rotary Club in Queensburgh to participate in the Rotary/Daily News Team Talk Competition.
The competition is held annually and invites pupils from schools across the province to participate to be judged on their speaking abilities.
Miss K Kanniah, teacher at the school as well as a representative of the Rotary Club of Queensburgh, said pupils had to showcase skills such as fluency, eloquence and audience involvement.
“All participating schools were required to nominate a disadvantaged school which would win R20 000, should the nominating school win the competition. Open to Grade 10 to 12 pupils, teams comprised three pupils per school and were tasked with identifying a problem existing within their surroundings and come up with practical solutions,” she said.
Queensburgh High pupils chose the topic, ‘From Apartheid to a rainbow nation, for each other’s diversity there is still no appreciation’. “The team identified this as being a pertinent issue due to the ongoing racism facing individuals in South Africa today, such as the Penny Sparrow issue as well as the students burning historical artifacts in universities, Miss Kanniah added.
The preliminary round of the competition was held on Wednesday, 9 March at Mowat Park Girls’ High School.
“The team unfortunately did not qualify for the semi-finals, however, they displayed a sterling effort, especially considering it was the first attempt by all members at public speaking,” said Miss Kanniah.