Young Orator of the Year

What is the Young Orator of the Year Competition?

Gresham College runs an annual oracy competition for state school students in Year 12 (England and Wales), S5 (Scotland) and Year 13 (Northern Ireland) to promote the art of communicating complex information in a clear, concise and compelling way. Students are asked to submit a five-minute, recorded presentation on a given topic.

Why Enter?

The competition:

• supports the development of oracy skills
• helps students with UCAS applications and job interviews
• inspires students to study an EPQ (Extended Project Qualification)
• promotes a deeper understanding of their chosen topic
• introduces students to the inspiring research of world-class academics
• provides an opportunity to enhance their presenting skills

Finalists are invited to attend a half-day, confidence-building and presentation skills workshop, before presenting in person at the grand final a few weeks later. Both workshop and final are held in London with travel costs covered by the College.

The 2026 Competition

Entries have now closed for this year's competition. Students were asked to choose one of the following questions to answer in a five minute presentation:

1. Do protests do more harm than good in today's society?
2. Is tradition something that we should preserve or challenge?
3. Does cancel culture help society progress, or silence free speech?
4. Should AI ever be allowed to make life-changing decisions?  (For example - in Medicine, Law or Policing etc)?
5. Many theatre critics describe theatrical productions as 'vital'... Are they?
6. Are global tourism and sustainability fundamentally incompatible? 

We look forward to seeing our finalists in July!