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Jamilla, Year 12, took part in a national public speaking competition at the Royal Academy this week, giving a presentation to the academy’s president, artist Christopher Le Brun.

The ARTiculation national public speaking competition encourages young people to look, think and speak about art. Watch a film of Jamilla's speech.

In the London heat, Jamilla spoke about a video work, Boys and Sculpture, by London-based Irish sculptor Eva Rothschild, which shows a group of boys aged between 6 and 12 exploring a gallery full of her sculptures.

As the boys enter the gallery the film shows them starting to tentatively touch the sculptures, but then over the course of 26 minutes they totally dismantle them.

Barriers to art

“When I first watched the film I didn’t like it but then I started to analyse it and thought it was really interesting seeing the behaviour of the boys,” says Jamilla.

“In my talk I spoke about the barriers most people have when exploring art in galleries, which these boys did not feel. I’ve been taught not to touch art so what the boys did feels wrong but it raises interesting questions about how we experience art.”

Mr Le Brun, the adjudicator, said he had been fully absorbed and interested throughout Jamilla’s presentation and praised her choice of work and her approach to thinking about it.

Exploring your opinions

“I like this competition because it encourages you to have your own opinions and explore them,” says Jamilla. “I’d never been to the Royal Academy before so I was nervous, but when I started I was more confident than I thought I would be. I kept saying to myself ‘just enjoy it, do you best’.”

Jamilla says she gained a lot from the experience. “It made me feel more confident about public speaking in this sort of situation, and I think it will help me get work experience involving public speaking too."Jamilla thanked her teachers, Mr Campos, Ms Thomson and Ms Stanhope, who helped her prepare. Other schools taking part were Eltham School, Emanuel School, Epsom College, Guildford High School, Notting Hill and Ealing School, Queen’s Gate School, Riverside School, Sandringham School, Townley Grammar School and Wycombe Abbey.

Jamilla (above) pictured speaking in the London regional heat of the ARTiculation public speaking competition, and with the other competitors (below, fourth right).

Jamilla did not reach the London final but can now apply for the Kenneth Clark Travel Bursary, which would enable her to travel within the British Isles to visit a work of art, collection or building.

Well done Jamilla, you should feel very proud of your achievement.