Young Speaker of the Year 2024

We are delighted to announce the winners of our Young Speaker of the Year 2024 Competition.

Oscar Coupe (Hornsea School and Language College) and Kitty Langdon (Tiffin Girls’ School) were selected as joint winners of the Competition and they delivered their presentations as part of the 2024 CA Conference on Sunday 24 March. The judges (pictured above with Oscar and Kitty) were really impressed by their originality, depth of research and enthusiasm when sharing their ideas about the ancient world.

Congratulations to Oscar, Kitty and the Highly Commended speakers, pictured here:

• Amber Cann
• Tallulah Rose George
• Gillighan Lindley Owen (not pictured)
• Lleucu Haf Wiliam
• Annis Wiltshire

See below for the details of the Competition – and watch this space for something similar in the future!

Competition Information

Are you aged 18-24 and keen to share your ideas about the ancient world? Which classical artefact, concept, place, or text (etc.) intrigues or resonates with you the most? Would you like to discuss the topics that fascinate you with world-leading experts?

Our brand new speaking competition gives you the chance to be at the forefront of the classics conversation and present your ideas in a creative and innovative way at the UK’s largest classics conference to an enthusiastic and interested audience!  

The Competition

We want to hear from the next generation of thinkers, scholars, teachers, performers and visionaries so we are encouraging young people from across the UK to enter the CA’s speaking competition.

Simply prepare a 15-20 minute presentation (this could be in any style e.g. a mini lecture, spoken word piece, or even an edited short film) on a topic related to the ancient world and submit a video of your presentation before the closing date. The winner, as selected by our judges, will be invited to deliver their presentation at the Classical Association Conference, which will be held at the University of Warwick from Friday 22 – Sunday 24 March 2024.

There is no specific prompt or any restriction upon the type of classical topic you might discuss but we encourage you to draw upon your personal experiences and interpretations of ancient material and to be creative, thoughtful and innovative in your speech. You may choose to focus upon a particular artefact or a defined topic or tell a personal story – how you grab our attention and retain your audience is up to you!

Entries will be judged upon the quality of the content and the delivery of the presentation, not the quality of the filming so don’t worry about your video production (but please make sure that we can see and hear you). Recording on your phone, PC or tablet is perfectly acceptable and AV equipment (e.g. projector, laptop, clicker) will be provided where desired at the keynote event.

We encourage you to think about the visual impact of your presentation; if you choose to include slides or images as part of your presentation you must, like all speakers, ensure that they are freely available to use in this way under a Creative Commons license and/or are properly credited.  

What is the CA Conference?

The CA Conference is the UK’s largest annual gathering of classics enthusiasts (professional scholars, practising teachers, students of any age and level), held every year at a different university. It’s fun and friendly as well as informative and people come together to share their latest work, make new friends and connections, hear brilliant talks, catch up over a drink, visit local sites and enjoy a range of entertainment, often including a play or recital, and, in 2024, a very special performance…

Rules and Information

• The Competition is completely free to enter and you don’t need to be a member of an educational institution to take part.
• You must be aged 18-24 (inclusive) as of 23:59 GMT on Friday 10 November 2023.
• Your work must be your own and your presentation performed as an individual (not in a pair or group).
• You must be a resident of the UK (and Channel Islands) or a student at a UK educational institution.
• Your video presentation must be 15-20 minutes in length (inclusive). Entries below or above this length will be ineligible and will not be judged.
• In the description box of your video you must state the following: ‘my presentation is an entry for the Young Speaker Competition and the views and opinions in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Classical Association/University of Warwick’

The closing date of the Competition is 23:59 (GMT) on Friday 10 November 2023. This deadline is final and late entries will not be considered.

Applicants will be notified about the outcome of their entry by the end of December 2023. Individual feedback will not be given.

How to Enter

1. Upload your video to YouTube. Guidance on uploading films is available here. The video must be UNLISTED (not public or private).
2. Complete this entry form. Make sure the link to your video is placed in the correct box.

Once you have pressed ‘submit’ on the entry form you will receive an automatic confirmation of your entry. We will not accept submissions after the deadline.

What do I win?

The winner will receive a bespoke gift and a year’s free membership of the Classical Association. They will also be invited to deliver their performance at the 2024 CA Conference, which they will attend free of charge: conference fees, refreshments and overnight accommodation may be provided. The date and time of the winner’s performance is to be confirmed.

If you know when you enter the competition that you will not be able to attend the conference in person please make sure that you declare this on the entry form. There will be the opportunity to present remotely but we hope that the winner will be able to present in person.

The winner will be eligible to invite up to four guests, who will receive free conference day passes on the day of your presentation.

A number of shortlisted entrants will be awarded with certificates and may be invited to a free workshop with Write2Speak.

Judging Panel

Dr Paul Grigsby

Paul is a Research Fellow in Outreach and Impact in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick, where he runs the Warwick Classics Network and teaches Greek Religion and the Public Engagement of Classics. His research interests centre on Greek religion and cultural identity, especially for the region of Boeotia in central Greece.

Isabella Vaughan

Isabella is a final-year undergraduate student at the University of Warwick. Her main research interests centre within Greek art. She’s also working on public engagement (especially for younger audiences), and how the uses of 3D modelling and imaging can be used within conversations on repatriation. And she has her very own Parthenon, built out of Lego!

Tyler Luke Cunningham

Tyler is a highly accredited actor, singer, dancer and practitioner of performance education. Tyler trained in Inclusive Performance at Chickenshed Theatre Company and has since delivered hundreds of workshops and classes to people of all abilities. He is the co-founder and co-director of Write2Speak.

Yossi Goodlink

Yossi is an award-winning spoken word artist, actor, and educator. He co-leads Write2Speak with Tyler, and alongside his own performance work he delivers hundreds of spoken word workshops with schools, universities, companies and charities.

Gráinne Cassidy

Gráinne is the CA’s Education Co-ordinator and a former state school teacher and Head of Classics. She is passionate about widening access to classical subjects and supporting teacher and student development; in her spare time, she can be found avoiding training for marathons!