Some 15 Bright P-12 College students from years 7 and 9 competed in both individual and paired speech challenges at the North East Regional Japanese Secondary Speech Contest in Albury last week.

Competition was tough, as they joined more than 100 students and staff from FCJ Benalla, Scots School Albury, Wodonga Senior Secondary and Catholic College Wodonga.

Students composed their own speeches and presented them off by heart to the audience and three judges, to showcase their language proficiency, cultural understanding and public speaking skills in a formal and supportive environment.

Bright P-12 College claimed the first place accolade in the Year 7 individual and pairs categories, as well as the Year 9 pairs.

Second place was also collected by Bright P-12 students in both the Year 7 and Year 9 pairs categories, with a third and fourth place ranking by the Year 7s individual competitors.

Four participation awards were also granted in each the Year 7 and Year 9 pairs division.

Hosting the event is shared among the participating schools and is a long-standing tradition within the North East region’s Japanese language community.