Ellis Lyons, Winner - Your Shout Grand Final 2019
I am always in awe of young students who have such strong opinions on things that matter to them in our world. Thursday night, 5th December 2019, we had 16 passionate speakers stand and deliver on a stage in front of more than 250 people.
What really sticks in my mind is the journey these young people are going through. They are only nine and ten years old but their opinions are strong. The thing is, when I was that age you could not get me to even say my name to anyone other than my family. To think I would be standing in front of 250 people was unthinkable.
Students today are really quick to work on their fears and accept the challenge. They see the stage as an opportunity to talk about things that are important to them. The subjects covered ranged from Perilous Plastic, Inspiring Women, Challenges, and My Dog Dexter!
Our winner this year was Ellis Lyons from St Katherine's Church of England School. He talked to us about sport. However, there was a twist. He talked about playing 'Netball'. This in itself proved to be a challenge because normally only girls are allowed to play this sport. He is setting a precedent in his school that you can choose what works for you and he is challenging others to join him!
There were so many special speeches, but there was one that I will remember because of its message. Spring Delve's speech was entitled "Standing Out" and she shared with us her story of being bullied. Spring touched my heart because she comes across as a very strong little person who can look after herself. What reasonated with me was that it doesn't matter how strong we appear there is always something under the surface others can't see. We have to find ways to deal with that 'something'. I'll be watching out for Spring because I think she will be going places with her voice and her message.