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On 19 March, young people from Cardinal Newman Catholic School, Hove; St Paul's, Burgess Hill and St Wilfrid’s, Crawley, as well as St Gregory’s, Tunbridge Wells (Diocese of Southwark) took part in Sussex Regional Finals of The Catenians National Public Speaking Competition, at Cardinal Newman School.  

The competition is open to students aged 16 to 18 who attend Catholic Schools. Speaking on behalf of the Catenians, Nigel Feast explained that

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"In our modern world it is essential that young people equip themselves with the skills to communicate effectively and the competition is a great opportunity for Catholic schools to promote the key skill of speaking in public with their students."

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Schools that participate hold their own in-house competition in the Autumn term to produce their two top-performing students. This year, eight students from four schools took part in the Sussex regional heat, with the winner and runners up all taking home cash prizes. The winner will also go on to participate in the National Finals held at the Manchester Conference Centre in September 2025.

In this heat, first prize was claimed by Ruby M from St Gregory's and second prize went to Ruby A from St Paul's, Burgess Hill.

The students each spoke for four minutes on their chosen topic, and the wide range of subjects spoke to the passions and concerns of young people in today’s world. They included “Why teenagers should be Members of Parliament” to “Poverty is not your destiny”. The winner was Ruby who gave a very thought provoking and confident talk about “Gender inequality in sport”.

The impartial judging panel included our Diocesan Youth Adviser, Lizzie Wakeling; Catenian Philip Gidman, and Anne Barry.

Speaking after the event, Lizzie said:

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“It was wonderful to be with the young people for this competition, hearing what they are passionate about, and articulating their arguments so clearly and with such conviction. With teenagers like this in our midst, I have high hopes for the future.

“I would also like to extend a huge thank you to the Catenians for arranging this competition, it is a great opportunity for our young people to grow in confidence.”

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