ESB Centre News, Spring/Summer 2019 edition

2018 YSY VIDEO WILL BE PLACED HERE

It was smiles all round at ESB’s annual Young Speakers of the Year Showcase in November. Winners travelled from around the country to Liverpool to attend the celebration and receive their awards. Out of 14,000 learners who took ESB Speech assessments in 2017-18, twelve were selected as winners in recognition of their outstanding oracy skills. The celebration featured three additional categories alongside the Young Speaker Awards. The ‘Spirit of ESB’ Awards recognise and encourage the potential of all learners, rewarding individuals who showed great promise in their assessments. The Burniston Bell Award recognises teachers who demonstrate exceptional commitment to teaching ESB in their centre. Finally, the prestigious Richard Ellis Award was introduced this year in honour of ESB’s former Trustee, Richard, to reward

an individual who has shown outstanding dedication to ESB.

Each learner performed to an audience of family, friends and teachers, impressing everyone with their skills and abilities, and their charisma and confidence. In recognition of her role as a student, teacher, examiner, International Director, Trustee, and Honorary Vice-President, Merriel Halsall-Williams was presented with the Richard Ellis Award for promoting ESB’s values. Worthy winner, Karris Holm summed up the excitement of the day “I’d always been intimidated by public speaking, but this weekend has been really enjoyable – the lovely atmosphere at the event made the whole day a really positive experience!”

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