At the end of June we were delighted to hold the 111th annual Dymond Speech competition as part of our Prizegiving Evening. As many of you will know, the competition was introduced in 1911 by a descendant of Henry Dymond (Headmaster 1854-1864). The Dymond Speech counts among its many illustrious winners BBC Radio 4 presenter Justin Webb, who won the competition three times in the 1970s.

This year, students across the Senior School submitted video entries to the English department, who shortlisted four competitors for the live event: Sewa Zamba (Year 13), Olha Khomiak (Year 12), Thomas Lloyd (Year 12), and Maddie Didau (Year 12). Each spoke eloquently on a range of topics, including the representation of Africa, the art of decision making, the mental health of paramedics, and the role of gender in modern society. 

We are really grateful to Sidcotian Katherine Bryan-Merrett (S:2000 – 2002), for joining our judging panel this year and for helping to distribute the prizes at Prizegiving. Katherine has had a diverse career and now works as a portrait and mural artist. Katherine has led several ambitious projects in the creative industry, steering concepts through to launch and delivering innovative solutions to many businesses and individuals. It was an honour to have her with us for this year’s Dymond Speech competition. Here she remembers fondly her own experience of winning the competition in 2002: 

"I didn’t think I was someone that could write a speech. I was a rebel, an angst-ridden ball of creative fury and hormones that found solace in singing with the school band or throwing paint about. I was out of my depth and surrounded by much better talent. It was thanks to the support and encouragement of the Sidcot teachers (Mr Potts, Elizabeth Grant, Mr Bateman to name a few) and a certain previous head boy, that despite my numerous attempts of self-sabotage and bad behaviour, gave me the push I needed to give it a go.

"The speech I wrote for the 2002 competition was called “Freehand” and, from memory, talked about image and marketing. I created a portrait for the speech that I held up to the audience and asked what the picture relayed to them, how did it make them feel and what did they think of the woman in the picture. It questioned our perception and judgements taken from constructed images. How we assume that “they” are happy and successful based on what we see, but actually it was just some colour on some cardboard - as the photos are models posed and curated to sell a dream….

"I am forever grateful to Sidcot for not giving up on me and for helping redirect me when I fell off track. For seeing things in me that I couldn’t and for offering me the opportunity to be a better version of myself. 

"It is a moment I often think back to and one that had helped me many times in my working life eg. launching my first business, standing up in boardrooms, speaking to prospective investors and talking to clients (to name but a few).

"It was really magical to be back to judge the speeches again, and again, I was in complete awe at the talent!"

Well done to this year's winner Sewa Zamba, to first runner up TomTom Lloyd and second runners up Olha and Maddie. A link to an article and photos from the event is available below.   

Dymond Speech 2022