Principal Martin Campbell challenged Year 12s to put together a presentation - without using PowerPoint - on the question, 'Are leaders made or born?'

Students had to draw upon their own experiences as well as academic research and the result was a thought-provoking analysis of the circumstances and attributes that can develop leadership qualities.

The winner, who picked up a £50 voucher, was Christian Dobson (pictured).  Mr Campbell praised his ability to predict what questions he might be asked, saying:  "An excellent presentation, well-rehearsed and subscribing to the leadership brief.  A cross section of leaders was researched and thoughtful analysis of their style was presented.  Christian made good use of different styles of leadership as exhibited by Scott and compared this with Hitler and Bonaparte.  What was particularly good was the ability of Christian to develop answers to posed questions by me and actually follow a line of argument.  This presentation and subsequent development of points was erudite and showed a thoughtful analysis of the question including the acknowledgement that 'circumstances...can often...dictate leadership'." 

Also picking up a £10 voucher were Alex York and Ethan Waterfield. Mr Campbell had this to say about their presentation: "A well-rehearsed presentation with no prompts or scripts.  This presentation did refer to leaders of note including William Wallace, Hitler and Margret Thatcher; there were also references to their own leadership as demonstrated in their role as non-commissioned officers in the Air Cadets."

Another winner was Boniface Kangethe, who impressed Mr Campbell with his personal style of presenting and the use of the quotation, 'courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to move on in the presence of fear'. Feedback from Mr Campbell included: "Boniface asked questions of his audience and used rhetorical questions to stimulate thought.  He referred to his studies and to aspects of leadership shown by Nelson Mandela.  His presentation did focus on the morality of leadership and on the moral purpose of people he had seen as good leaders."