The Moree Public School student had progressed to inter-regional level after first being one of two students from years five and six chosen to represent the school at regional level in Inverell.

Chloe won her age division in the regionals and then went on to compete at the inter-regional competition in Nambucca Heads on Thursday, August 30.

The year five student also won the inter-regional competition and will now compete against 12 other students from around the state at the year five and six final in Sydney on Friday, November 16.

Moree Public School Multicultural Perspectives Public Speaking competition coordinator Lindy Hosegood said it’s a very significant achievement.

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“It is a very tough competition to get through to this level,” she said.

“Chloe’s done very well. She has a flair for public speaking and has worked hard to finesse her speech.

“She’s committed to doing well and this shows by the fact that she’ll take every opportunity she can and ask me to give her a topic and she’ll then have five minutes to prepare an impromptu speech. She does the same thing with her family at home.

“No matter what the outcome in Sydney, she’s to be congratulated on her achievement.”

The Multicultural Perspectives competition encourages primary school students to explore ideas of multiculturalism in Australia, as well as giving them a place to practice their public speaking skills and improve their confidence.

At each stage of the competition contestants present both a prepared speech and an impromptu speech, which are weighted 50/50 by the adjudicators.

For their prepared speech, contestants must choose a topic from the list of multicultural topics and the speech must have multicultural content. The impromptu speech is chosen by the adjudicator on the day, and is on a general, non-multicultural theme. Contestants are given five minutes to write their impromptu speeches.

Chloe chose the topic ‘unity in diversity’ for her prepared speech, using the metaphor of a jigsaw puzzle to explain how all different shaped and coloured pieces come together in unity to create the final picture. In her speech, Chloe uses India as an example of a country which symbolises unity and diversity, saying that other countries should follow India’s example. 

At inter-regionals, the impromptu topic she was given was ‘taking risks’ and Chloe came up with a speech on plastic pollution. 

Making the state final is a dream come true for Chloe, who had seen her older siblings Josh and Gabbie do well in the competition previously – Josh made it to regional level, while Gabbie made it to inter-regionals four years in a row. Now Chloe has done one better by making it to state.

Chloe said she was thrilled to win the inter-regional competition and is excited to be going to Sydney in November.

“I coudn’t believe it,” she said of winning at Nambucca Heads.

“I’m so excited to get to this next level.

“It’s been a great experience to listen and learn how to develop this skill.”

Chloe is the third student from Moree Public School to make the state final. Archie Matthews competed at state in 2016, while Amy Kaukiainen made it through in 2003 when she was in year four.

“Public speaking is something we think stands our students in good stead for their future careers,” Mrs Hosegood said.