Many congratulations to Tallulah in Year 11, who took first prize in the semi-final of the prestigious GDST Chrystall Carter Prize for Public Speaking last week. The event took place at Sutton High School and involved five excellent Year 11 speakers from Sutton High, Bromley High, Sydenham High, Croydon High and Blackheath High competing for a place in the GDST grand final, which takes place next term. 

Tallulah's speech, which argued that ‘Social Media is Undoing Our Society’, was superb. The judges praised her on the quality of her argument, her effective use of humour, her assured and engaging delivery, and her confident, articulate responses to questions.  

The competition - which gives Year 11 students from across the Girls’ Day School Trust the opportunity to compete using their knowledge of debating and their acquired skills in speech writing and delivery - has been running since 2001 and is named after Chrystall Carter who was Legal Adviser to the GDST for nine years until her untimely death in 1999. Chrystall had a strong belief in the power of reasoned argument and the competition honours her memory by providing GDST pupils with the opportunity to develop this essential skill. 

We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for you Tallulah!