January 1, 1970

The English-Speaking Union’s international network of over thirty five branches in the UK and sixty worldwide helps to deliver their International Public Speaking Competition involving over 40,000 young people in over fifty countries each year.

In the UK, the competition for Schools has been renamed for 2015 and beyond as the ESU Churchill National Public Speaking Competition in recognition of Churchill’s skill at public speaking. It’s the longest-running and most prestigious competition of its kind in the UK with over 350 schools competing each year.

Students who participate in the competition develop their knowledge of topical issues, while enhancing their verbal articulacy, speech writing skills and their ability to think analytically on their feet – skills that provided the bedrock of Churchill’s public career!

To learn more about the ESU Churchill National Public Speaking Competition for Schools (and how Churchill’s speech-making has influenced participants), click here.

See and listen to some of the speeches by past entrants here.

In addition the new Winston Churchill Cup is awarded to the winner of a National Final, comprising the nine winning speakers from the ESU Regional Finals, to be held in the Autumn of every year, starting in 2014,at the Churchill War Rooms in London.

Sir Winston Churchill Public Speaking Competition

Blenheim Palace and Chartwell, supported by The Churchill Centre (UK) also run a Public Speaking Competition. The Churchill sites engage with schools at a variety of age levels and their own competitions have become very popular with a range of different age groups.

The National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri also runs a public speaking competition for 6^th to 8^th grade students at middle school in Missouri, US. See entry details for 2014–2015 here.