Speaking festival is talk of the town

YOUNGSTERS will be in fine voice this week for the 28th Oldham Choral Speaking Festival from tomorrow to Friday.

Started by the Oldham Metro Rotary Club in 1985, this year’s event will be at Oldham Parish Church instead of the usual venue of Oldham Coliseum, which is being refurbished.

Primary school children, from nursery and reception class to Year 6, will take to the stage and deliver a range of poems and rhymes in front of proud parents, family members and Ann Warr, an international adjudicator.

This year, more than 2,400 children are scheduled to speak and but more than 40,000 aged four to 11 have taken part in the past 27 years.

The festival aims are to help children increase their enjoyment and understanding of poetry, help develop their self-confidence and capacity to speak in public, and to encourage high standards of presentation.