Gerard Norton, a Catholic pupil at St Bede’s College in Manchester, has just regained the North West Catenian Association Public Speaking competition for his college. The prestigious Trophy was last won in 2009 by former Bedian Daniel Callaghan, who also went on to win the national competition. Gerard, 17, has high hopes of following in Daniel’s footsteps when he competes in the national finals in September.  When asked about how he felt about winning the competition, he said: “The competition was tough. This was my first time being involved in a public speaking competition, though it was harder to practise in front of my mum and dad in the kitchen than in the competition itself. “I am really looking forward to the nationals. I hope I can bring home the bacon for Bede’s again.” Maureen Hazell, head of English, who has helped prepare both Gerard and his predecessor Daniel for the public speaking competitions, said: “A good speaker makes it look easy but it’s not. We have some very talented students at St Bede’s who do seem to relish communicating with audiences. It’s always a delight to work with them.”