Shining at the Frayne Speech Festival

Shining at the Frayne Speech Festival

Last month, SAC joined 12 other Mercy Schools to compete in a day of Debating and Public Speaking at the Frayne Speech Festival held at St Aloysius College in Melbourne.  This annual event honours the legacy of Mother Ursula Frayne, an extraordinary Sister of Mercy, leader and educator who opened the first Australian Mercy School in 1846.

The debating team performed exceptionally well across all the debates. In the first debate, they tackled a challenging economics topic; that a windfall tax should not be introduced in Australia. They used specific and credible evidence from sources such as the OECD, Treasury and the Productivity Commission. They were well prepared and confident speakers, winning the debate by 7 points.

They also achieved success in their second debate, arguing that private schools should be abolished! The adjudicator praised the team’s clear structure, strong rebuttals and effective transitions. Their use of relevant examples and statistics strengthened their arguments, and their cohesive and well-developed discussion of the impacts was particularly impressive.

The team then progressed to the Final and came Runner Up. Saachi Sooraj was also awarded Best Overall Speaker of the competition, recognising her outstanding individual performance.

The Public Speaking component of the competition provided an opportunity for students to speak up on a range of important issues such as mental health and gender imbalance.

“Travelling to Melbourne for debating was a really valuable experience. It gave me the opportunity to compete against new schools and meet other students across Australia. I was able to develop my confidence, communication and ability to think quickly under pressure.” Saachi S

“I learnt so much, met so many new people, and made so many special memories…and am excited to continue working on my debating!” Leila M

“Reaching the final was a highlight, because we had to prepare our arguments in just under an hour. This challenged us to think quickly and adapt to new information. Taking part in Frayne was an incredibly exciting and rewarding opportunity.” Gianna D

“Attending the Frayne Speech Festival gave me an incredible opportunity to meet new people and go out of my comfort zone. The whole process, from writing and memorising my speech, to presenting it and hearing all the incredible speeches from other people, taught me many things and I grew a lot as a person!” Aamina D

“I gained knowledge on unique topics and made many new connections along the way. This trip grew my own public speaking confidence, and I learnt to always be prepared to ‘give it a go.’” Madison M

Ms Lucyna Zwolski and Ms Lucy Combe
Frayne Festival Coordinators

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