Three Year 10 students proudly represented Southland Boys’ High School: Cooper Paterson, Max Bekhuis, and Cullum Hughes. Each participant delivered a one-minute speech in Japanese, followed by responding to questions related to their speech - all in Japanese! This challenging format allowed students to demonstrate not only their preparation but also their ability to think and communicate spontaneously in a second language.

The annual Southland Japanese Speech Competition was held at Southland Girls’ High School on Tuesday, 24th June. This event brought together students from across the region to showcase their Japanese language skills in a competitive and supportive environment.

We were honoured to welcome the Japanese National Language Adviser, Mrs. Chisato Yoshioka, as a special guest judge for the event. She praised the high standard of language skills demonstrated by Southland students and expressed how impressed she was by their pronunciation, fluency, and confidence.

A special congratulations to Cooper Paterson, who placed second in the Year 10 category - a fantastic achievement. Max and Cullum also delivered strong performances, standing out among competitors from James Hargest College and Southland Girls’ High School.

We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to Kenta Niho, who generously supported the event as one of the judges. His time and contribution were greatly appreciated.

This experience was a valuable opportunity for our students to develop their language skills and gain confidence in public speaking. 

We are proud of their efforts and achievements.