COMPETING against the roar of the waterfall and the chiming of the Market Place clock was a true test for five youngsters taking part in a new city public speaking competition.
Pupils from Landau Forte College and Murray Park School competed as individuals for the inaugural Chris Williamson Trophy, named after the Derby North MP.
Initially, 15 pupils from the two schools attended a series of workshops this week run by The Lostboys theatre company.
After two days of training and development, the finalists gave impassioned speeches in the sweltering heat of Derby's Market Place at Speakers' Corner during lunchtime yesterday.
The eventual winner was 16-year-old Terrianne Lloyd-Jones, of Landau Forte College, who sourced her own speech from a Rocky film.
She said: "It has been very interesting and I am really surprised to have won because everyone was very good. It does help build confidence and it's been a very good thing to do."
Mr Williamson was on the judging panel, alongside Paul Broesmith, from the Lostboys, and Sally Greatorex, of Derby Live, which organised the event.
He said: "I was approached by the city council about having the trophy named after me, which is a great honour.
"Public speaking is a great tool and has many spin-off benefits such as increased confidence and improvements in communication.
"It was a close competition – the waterfall and the clock are just a few and there weren't many points between them in the final score."
Ben Adwick, also of The Lostboys, said he had seen "tremendous improvements" in all five young people between arriving for the workshops and the finished performances.
He said: "Not many people get the chance to speak in public regularly and so it is always an ordeal when they are called upon to do it for real, such as at weddings.
"But these five people have really worked hard in a short while to make improvements."
The other competitors were Megan Pratt, 16, also from Landau Forte College, and Murray Park School pupils Aporva Varshney, Luke Durose and Rhiannon Davies, all aged 13.
It is hoped the competition will become an annual event, said Ms Greatorex, who added: "We're reviving a tradition of public speaking competitions from the 1970s."
