Hannah's Euro talk's a winner

Organised by Soroptimist International and supported by Progressive Building Society, the competition was once again open to female students who are in Years 12 & 13, and are in full time education.

Slemish pupil, Hannah Ingleton, represented the Ballymena club in the final, speaking on the topic “European Union - Melting pot or mosaic?” and was placed third winning prizes for herself and her school.

She received the Margaret Gregg Salver and a gift donated by Newtownabbey & District Soroptimist Club presented by Ronnie Gregg, while Slemish College received book tokens to the value of 50.

Hannah was one of 15 finalists were selected from heats organised by regional Soroptimist clubs.

In recent years, the competition has experienced a marked increase in entries and now annually attracts around 100 entries from right across the Province.

Congratulating the finalists on the high standard of their speeches, Dr Joan Smyth, Chairman, Progressive Building Society, said: “Progressive is proud to support this community activity which encourages Northern Ireland’s young women to develop the skills and abilities necessary to voice their opinions on topical subjects in an informed and confident manner.

“I’m always thoroughly impressed by both the content and delivery of the speeches at the Final. It is no surprise that this competition is recognised within many educational establishments as one of the premier public speaking events in Northern Ireland”.