Young farmers from Devon have proved to be the best in the country.
Young farmers from Culm Valley in East Devon have won the 2021 Junior Reading National Finals, beating nine other young farmer (YFC) teams from across England and Wales to be crowned national champions.
The team from Culm Valley YFC, consisting of Daisy Cligg, Rose McCombe and Lauren Parkhouse, read passages from a book in front of an online audience. They were judged on their diction, clarity and expression.
Team member Rose McCombe was crowned the best overall reader.
She said:“It feels amazing to have won. To have got the best reader at nationals is something I’m incredibly proud of.
"Trying to engage with the audience while battling with country WiFi was certainly a challenge!”
Sponsored by NFU Mutual, the Devon Young Farmer’s public speaking programme is designed to improve the confidence and communication skills of members aged 10 to 28.
There was also success for Devon YFC’s Junior Public Speaking team, with Katie Davie, Molly Clist and Ruby McCombe speaking their way to second place.
Jill Persey, Devon YFC vice president, trained both the Devon YFC Junior Reading and Junior Public Speaking teams.
She explained:“The successes of these amazingly talented young people are so deserved. We have trained hard but they have all shown superb skills on their national journey!
“All YFC speaking competitions are brilliant, but the junior competitions in particular give these young people the opportunities to gain so many skills for later life.”
Success was not only achieved in the junior categories, with Devon YFC’s Senior Debating team also being awarded second place. The team consisted of members from across the county, including Dan Grist, Jack Stuart, Jess Broom, Fran Mobbs and Vicki Gilbert.
Dan Grist, chairman of Devon YFC’s Senior Debating team, said: “Public speaking is one of the things that Devon YFC does best and it was great that our Senior Debating team could still compete this year.
“I first competed in Junior Public Speaking when I was 13 years old and without these experiences during my time in young farmers, I would never have the confidence to be chairing meetings and speaking in public now.
“12 years on, I now realise that I owe so much to YFC for the skills it has given me.
"It’s brilliant to see the next generation of Devon YFC speakers already achieving so much.”
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