On Monday 27 June the City of South Perth hosted the Annual Speak with Confidence Awards. These awards are open to students in years six and seven from the primary schools within South Perth.

Now in their 20th year, the awards aim to increase the confidence and poise of middle school students and focus on how they can clearly express their opinions and ideas. The students choose their topics, write their speeches and then deliver to a panel of three judges and an audience comprising teachers and family members.

From the 17 students participating in the qualifying sessions, six students were selected by the panel of judges to present their speech in the finals held later that evening. The speeches presented involved a wide range of interesting, entertaining and informative topics, from the Bermuda Triangle to Martin Luther King.

The judges were faced with an extremely difficult decision as the six finalists performed exceptionally well in front of a crowd of family members, teachers and students.

The City of South Perth’s Mayor Sue Doherty announced the winners and presented the awards:

First place – Kal Kryzanowski from South Perth Primary School with his speech titled ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’

Second place – Alexia Zammitt from Penrhos College with her speech titled ‘My Big Fat Greek Easter’

Third place – Jessica Lee from Manning Primary School with her speech titled ‘The Future’

First place winner Kal Krzyzanowski, from South Perth Primary School, impressed the judges with his insightful speech, ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’. His win is particularly poignant given he has overcome significant language delays and learning difficulties, as well as having recently relocated from country Victoria to the City of South Perth with his parents and younger brother.

The other finalists were Jessie Jones, Kurtis Tanna and Shanaye Cooper who were congratulated for making the finals, a great achievement recognised by the City.

Mayor Sue Doherty said, “Each year the quality of speeches delivered at the awards reflect the hard work and dedication by both students and teachers, which this year was outstanding.”

“This event really highlights the talent within our local schools, as well as the City’s support to the education sector.”

The City would like to thank all of the primary schools involved and the volunteers from Toastmasters International who helped coordinate, present and judge this year’s awards.