The 52nd annual Festival of Speech took over Lithgow High School on Thursday, May 31, with students travelling from as far as Mount Druitt and Condobolin to take part in the massive debating and public speaking competition.
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With over one-hundred students participating from public schools in greater-western Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Central West, Principal Ann Caro said the Festival of Speech was a “really important” tradition for Lithgow.
“It’s really quite a special event. As a school we want to give priority to those skills, presenting a cohesive argument,” she said.
“It’s a really wonderful day that extends and enriches academic students.
“They say Lithgow is good at sport, well this is another kind of sporting event - the athletics of the brain.”
More than thirty debates took place throughout the day with many contentious topics thrown in the ring, such as ‘All people should be vegetarian’ and ‘The government should restrict freedom of speech’.
Lithgow High School’s senior team made it through to the finals, unfortunately losing the debate to Denison College, Bathurst, who picked up the Marie Brennan Memorial Trophy.
Winmalee High School won the junior competition.
Apart from competitors, many Lithgow High School students participated in the festival as runners and time-keepers, helping the event run smoothly.
The team from Mudgee High School thanked their runner for the day’s debates, Lithgow’s Tyra Govan.
“It’s our third year coming and it’s always a really good day,” Mudgee student Emma Culow said.
