Fiona helped found the first school Speakers’ Club in Britain at The Downs School, Compton in September 2014.
Since then it has been thriving and students have received many personal awards, such as the Certificate of Leadership (for completing all the roles in the club, 3 speeches and 2 evaluations), the Interim Certificate of Achievement (for completing the first five speeches in the ASC (Association of Speakers’ Clubs) speakers’ manual. It attracts students from years 7 through to 10 and both boys and girls are represented.
Mrs Brennan-Scott (Immediate Past President): ‘I was symbolically presented with a national award, the Brian Driscoll Trophy, which Swindon Speakers’ Club received for their work with young people. I set up Speakers’ Club at The Downs School, West Berkshire in September 2015, fulfilling a dream I had for 6 years. It is the first school in the United Kingdom to have an ASC Speakers’ Club, totally voluntary and with the approval of Head Teacher Chris Prosser and the support of President of ASC Swindon John McGhee.
If you have a dream, don’t ever give up on it. The rewards and satisfaction are enormous. 20 attendees today, including a few regular staff members, put on a fantastic meeting. We meet 10 lunchtimes a term and fit everything into 30 minutes!
If anyone else wants support doing something similar, I would be more than happy to help and support you. We need our young people to have an articulate voice in society!’
Alannah (President): ‘As a founding member of the club, I have seen it prosper and grow. Today we have a dedicated core group of students who are passionate about public speaking and I am proud to be one such student. Mrs Brennan-Scott is an inspiration and I thank her for the opportunities she has given me and all of the club members. I am extremely proud to be a part of the first ever Speaker’s Club within a school associated with the ASC in Britain and I look forward to the future.’
