Patna, Sept. 13: Poetry and prose enthralled the audience at an elocution contest today.

Muskan Poddar, a Class X student of Notre Dame Academy, won the Inter-School English Elocution Contest organised by St Michael’s High School on its campus.

On the jury were Aparna Shrivastava, centre exam manager (Bihar) and English faculty members at JD Women’s College — Seema Mishra and Ranju Singh.

Class X student Zain Jafar of International School (ICSE) and Class XI student Amara Sumbul of St Joseph’s Convent School came second and third, respectively. Muskan recited a poem, while Amara recited a passage from education activist Malala Yousafzai’s memoir, I am Malala.

Class XI students Utkarshini Anand (St Karen’s High School) and Shreya Raj (Carmel High School) were awarded for being the most promising speakers.

The contest was open to students of classes X to XII from different city schools.

Encouraging the students, St Michael’s High School principal Father Peter Arockiasamy said: “This programme was meant to help students speak English eloquently. All the participants had to use appropriate words to make the audience understand what they were trying to convey.”

Shrivastava, one of the three judges, said: “Speaking confidently and clearly is of great importance.”