A participant at the 5th Frank Anthony Memorial Inter-school Elocution Contest at DBMS English School on Tuesday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Be it Pakistan child activist Malala Yousafzai or death penalty, students of ICSE schools in the city showed they could voice their thoughts with verve and courage at the Fifth Frank Anthony Memorial Inter-school Elocution Contest on Tuesday.

Jamshedpur chapter of All India Anglo-Indian Association organised the annual event at DBMS English School. As many as 38 students from 19 cradles took part in the event.

The contest tested participants on their logical skills, knowledge, fluency in English and communication.

Held in two sections — category I saw students of classes IX and X engaging in some serious discussions and II was meant for the eleventh and twelfth graders — each speaker got two-and-half minutes on a topic.

So you had Mariah Candice Sneyd of Little Flower School in category I speaking on Malala — the beacon of hope. Yasha Spriha from Sacred Heart Convent School in category II did not shy away from a controversial topic, “such double standards by Barkha Dutt”.

The elocution is one of the many school activities that the association hosts in the city.

“We have been organising this event for the past five years. The elocution is a way to improve pronunciation, grammar, style and tone,” said Maryanne Ekka, president of the city chapter of the outfit.

Management consultant D.R. Modi, Father Leo D’Souza and academic Havovi Antia judged the students.

In category I, Mariah was declared winner, followed by runners-up Lopamudra Samatray of Kerala Samajam Model School and Nupur Singh of Tagore Academy.

In category II, Yasha scored the highest. Prachi Tiwary of Narbheram Hansraj English School and Trianka Mitter of Carmel Junior College finished second and third.

Winners took home trophies, certificates and medals.

The association also takes up philanthropic projects.