Exceptional Performances at Recita 2020

23rd November 2020

Recita

Recita is the Winchester College annual recitation competition. Every boy in the second to fifth years learns a poem of at least 16 lines to recite in their English or Div classes. Two winners go forth to the hotly-contested semi-finals with ten boys going through to the Lower School Recita competition for the Jack Parr Award / Simon Eliot Cup, and ten contesting for the highly-coveted Queen’s Silver Medal for English Speech. The competition is judged by a guest professional poet.

2020 Competition

This year saw a blended Recita, with a small live audience in New Hall as well as the event being streamed live. The Hampshire Poet Laureate, Kathryn Bevis, judged the event remotely and sent her verdict in following the event. She awarded the Queen’s Silver Medal for Speech to sixth form entrant, Adedeji Adesida for his recitation of ‘ Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou.

In her comments, Kathryn Bevis described Adedeji’s winning performance as "outstanding and breath taking," noting, "I thought you were this poem. I loved the way that you used your whole body as well as your whole voice. That you brought your acting skill to bear so powerfully on enacting this poem. You looked so comfortable with this. You held the energy of this poem, you held the power of this poem, seemingly so easily and I know how much work goes into making that look easy. Well done."

 

Jack Parr Award / Simon Eliot Cup

The Lower School competition was won by Peter Marsden (G) with Isaac Rosenberg’s ‘Returning, We Hear the Larks.’ Ms Bevis commented: "This performance has everything for me. It was versatile in terms of its range in voice. It had great authority. Its performer was unafraid to inhabit the performance as fully as he could. The poem played out its story through gesture, through expression and through physical movement as well."

Full results 

Lower School Recita for the Jack Parr Award / Simon Eliot Cup

1. Peter Marsden (G): ‘Returning, We Hear the Larks’ by Isaac Rosenberg
2. Michael Nevin (G): ‘A Dog Is A Dog’ by T.S. Eliot 
3. Mike Wimbush (B): ‘Break of Day in the Trenches by Isaac Rosenberg

Upper School Recita for the Queen’s Silver Medal for Speech

1. Adedeji Adesida (F): ‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou
2. Laurie Goggin (G): ‘People's Faces’ by Kae Tempest
3. Kit Colville (B): ‘I Love My Job’ by Dr Seuss

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