Mayor of Wigan welcomes young winners of public speaking competition

Wigan Rotary Club’s Junior Speaks contest – which was set up in 2008 to encourage youngsters to feel confident when speaking in front of an audience – returned for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic and was won by a team from Our Lady’s RC Primary School in Aspull.

Organisers were impressed with the range of topics covered, which included girls in sport, haemophilia and zoos.

The winning pupils, along with their second team, were invited to Wigan Town Hall to give their presentations to the Mayor of Wigan, Coun Marie Morgan.

There was quite a crowd in the mayor’s parlour as the children spoke, before refreshments were served.

Wigan Rotary Club president Monica Meehan said: ”It was so inspiring to meet the pupils clearly enjoying being part of this event in the mayor’s parlour. The teachers and families were obviously so proud of their young people.

"Wigan Rotarians felt that this year’s Junior Speaks was very special and the two teams spoke with such confidence that this can only be the start of a bright future for all of them. It was a privilege for us all to be together. We are already looking forward to making plans for the next event.

"Thank you to the mayor for making us all feel so welcome, to the teams who gave us so much to think about and to the teachers and the families for supporting us.”