Rotary news of trolley dash and public speaking success

Irthlingborough Huxloe team (l to r) Jade Thurnham (Main Speaker), Beth Telford (Chairwoman), Santhi Nalukurthi and Rotary District Governor Geoff Blurton

Earlier rounds decided which teams from the Northampton, Rushden, Kettering districts should go forward to the area semi-final, held at the William Cecil Hotel in Stamford in February.

Each team consists of three students - a main speaker, a chairperson and a third who proposes a vote of thanks to the speaker.

Competing students came from schools in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and Northamptonshire speaking on the subjects included: The Moral Obligation to help Syrian Refugees, Learning from the Experience of Past Wars, William Blake’s Vision, Modern Technology and Imagination versus Knowledge.

The adjudicators were actor and director David Fensome, Janet Dowse former Head of English of Bourne Grammar School and a published poet and Rev Canon Murray MacDonald

The three winning teams came from Wellingborough School who spoke on the subject -What can we learn from past wars in our conflict with ISIS, Irthlingborough’s Huxlow Science College whose speech was on Motivation and Catmose College in Oakham whose subject was Automation.

They will all go on to Rotary’s District Final to be held in March at Catmose College in Rutland.

Competition will conclude with the national final when teams from all over the UK compete for the title of Rotary Youth Speaks Team 2016.

The competition shows that young people today are intelligent, caring and committed to improving our world.

Rushden Rotary Club’s big fund-raising push was their annual trolley dash raffle which took place at Rushden’s Waitrose store.

The winner was Janet Ward, of Irthlingborough who with a little help from her husband sped round the store collecting £400 of groceries on the way!

The beneficiaries of the proceeds of the dash are club president Robin Allen’s headline charity, Glennis Hooper’s Crazy Hats Breast Cancer Appeal and Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance Service.

Mrs Ward said “I know it’s been said before but I’ve never won anything before and it’s good I was contributing to two worthwhile causes.”