Public Speaking Star

​Congratulations to S5 pupil Riya who won a prestigious award at the Glasgow Bar Association Martin Lavery Cup public speaking competition.

On Thursday 18th April, Riya competed at the event held at Glasgow’s Sheriff Court.

She spoke eloquently and passionately on her chosen topic about the importance of patriotism, challenging the audience to re-evaluate pre-concieved notions.

Riya powerfully reminded us that we should all love our country because ‘our country is the idea of a collective identity of people, across all cultures, languages, communities and governing ideologies, who embody and inhabit a stretch of land.

‘It is the idea of an entity which exists independent of the time, or the people, or the era. The idea of a promise. A promise of fraternity among its citizens. Unity in the face of diversity. A promise of a place, a culture, a part of the world to well and truly call home’.

Riya is pictured by the Sheriff’s seat after being named joint runner up. One of the judges commented that Riya could set her sights on that seat in future after captivating the assembled courtroom with her speech!