Year 11 Suhani celebrates an incredible public speaking achievement, as she wins the GDST Chrystall Prize

Year 11 student Suhani has triumphed at the GDST wide Chrystall Prize public speaking competition, with her speech in last week’s final entitled ‘The concept of equality is too complex to be attainable’.

The esteemed Chrystall Prize competition brings together Year 11 students from across GDST schools, to voice their opinions on the most prevalent debates in modern society. Set up in memory of former GDST Deputy Legal Secretary, Chrystall Carter, the competition holds extra meaning for the girls. Chrystall had a strong belief in the power of reasoned argument, and this competition provides a platform for girls to build confidence and have their voices heard.

After participating in an extensive audition process in School, Suhani competed in the semi-final at Sheffield Girl’s against four other GDST schools from the northern area. After winning this round of the competition, Suhani progressed to the overall final at Streatham and Clapham High School. Suhani’s final speech to the judges alluded to the notion of being fair, highlighting that although we may never achieve complete equality in society, we should aim to build a world in which we treat people with integrity and fairness.

Suhani opened with the iconic and impactful quote from Martin Luther King “I have a dream. I have a dream that one day, Black, White, Man, Woman, Rich, Poor…” and went on to highlight her own dream that “our world will become a place thriving with equality”. Suhani later discussed whether “the concept of equality is too complex to be attainable” and considered whether “what makes us beautiful is our inequality, our diversity, our variation?”. She concluded, “With every small act of honesty, equity, open-mindedness, my dream can start to become a reality”.

Speaking after her victory Suhani told us: “going last I was quite nervous, but the speech and questions went smoothly.” Suhani went on to say: “one of my favourite parts of the speech is the reference to Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ at the beginning and end. I decided to incorporate this as it is an immensely powerful line that helps to depict a sense of urgency to the situation and matches Martin Luther King’s bravery to speak the truth.”

“Winning the prize felt amazing. After all the hard work and effort I had put in, it felt like such a huge reward and it was nice to get comments from the judges afterwards as they are really inspirational figures.”

The judges commended Suhani for her ability to engage the audience and for the effective structure of her speech.

We are incredibly proud of Suhani and look forward to following the journey of future Year 11 students in the competition next year, which will be hosted by Sheffield Girls’.