The Lectern Society speeches of 2024 provided a remarkable platform for eleven Sixth Form students of Pocklington School to showcase their creativity and maturity. As society today places tremendous pressure on young people to conform to superficial standards, these students presented thought-provoking and illuminating responses to the stimulus question: We are created by the perceptions of those around us.

Each student provided their unique holistic and personal interpretation of the topic, and the audience and guest judges were captivated by the students’ excellent presentations. The event was organised by Upper Sixth student, Louise Tomlinson, who demonstrated exceptional professionalism in co-ordinating the evening. The music provided by Bella Wiedmann during the opening and interval added a level of sophistication to the event.

The panel of judges and official questioner presiding over the meeting were members of the Pocklington School Community, Clare Frisby, Jenny Preston, Verity Wood (Judges) and Cheryl Hunter (Official Questioner). All three judges referred to the high standard of the responses and the maturity displayed within them. The excellence of all the presentations was acknowledged, but the stunning response of Pauline Agarwal delivered with passion and conviction won first prize, whilst Thomas Roberts was awarded second prize and Izzy Nuttall third prize.

The Head of the English Department, Sally Stone, was extremely proud of all the participants and commented: “The Lectern Society is a fantastic showcase of the culmination of skills Pocklington School has encouraged. This is an amazing opportunity, and I would encourage next year’s Sixth Form to get involved.”