5th February – Another great night of debate. Teams from Shaftesbury, Gillingham, Blandford and Sturminster Newton Schools took part in Shaftesbury Rotary’s Youth Speaks competition hosted by Shaftesbury School. Each team had a Chairperson who managed the debate, a Proposer who put forward their motion and an Opposer, arguing against.
It was fantastic to see the effort the students put into their debates, arguing their points well in front of a judging panel and having to field questions from the questioner. As if that was not enough, they had to do so in front of an audience and within a time limit – quite daunting for the students, but they all did an amazing job. The topics ranged from Herd mentality to Resident doctors pay
The winning team in the Intermediate Competition included Phe Crossley, Connie Irwin and Lily Scully from Gillingham School, whose topic was “Should we wear uniform in schools?”
The winning team in the Senior Competition included Amelie Hayes, Malak Hammoud and Jasper Davy also from Gillingham School whose topic was “Should assisted dying be allowed in the UK?”
The winners now progress to the District Competition at The Mountbatten School in Romsey.
Many thanks to Shaftesbury School for hosting the event, and to all the students for taking part, their schools and teachers for supporting them, and the judges: Simon Hoare MP; Dr Andrew Weir (retired local GP);- Julie Turner (retired teacher) and Conor Smith (Town Councillor and musician).
9th February – We welcomed three other guests as prospective members. The proceeds from the January Burns Night amounted to £405.66 towards Rotary charity funds.
On the international front the Chitipi School Global Grant initiated by Northampton, with the assistance of other clubs and matched District/RIBI funding has now raised 75,000 dollars. They are now working on international matched funding and hope that the total raised will reach 150,000 dollars.
Rotary arrangements are well underway for the Sponsored Swim on Sunday March 22nd at Coombe House Pool where pupils from Abbey First School and Shaftesbury Primary School will swim lengths to raise funds for their chosen charities. Thank you to the Dorset Centre of Excellence for enabling us to host this event with them.
Speaker – The Mayor, Virginia Edwyn Jones, spoke to us on the Town Council Projects rather than the day to day running. We heard about the St James Park upgrade using “Natural Play” equipment and Covid recovery funding, The Town Hall renovation works, The Community hub, and ongoing Devolution.
Following on from their success in the Young Chef’s competition at Sturminster Newton High School, Ben Thompson and Isaac Stone made the journey down to Romsey for the District Final. They were competing with very talented chefs and whilst they did really well, unfortunately they didn’t make the top two. Shaftesbury Rotary would like to thank Ben Thompson and Isaac Stone for their enthusiasm and participation. We would also like to thank both sets of parents for their support. Also we would like to thank both Shaftesbury and Sturminster Newton High Schools for their continued support with the Youth Competitions.
23rd February – Our monthly business meeting covered Shoeboxes, Rotakids, Breakfast clubs, Youth competitions, The Directory, Books for Schools, Our Twin club of Heerlen, Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus, Kids Out and social events. A busy evening.
The 100 club draw prizes go to Holly Piper £30, Martin Sayers £20, Jake Shean £30, Stephen Russell £20.
The Caldwell Award this year will go to Shaftesbury in Bloom (watering gang) in recognition of the voluntary time they give to ensure that the window boxes and flower arrangements are kept looking at their best through the summer.
• March 22nd – Sponsored swim at Coombe House
• Fun Run April 12th 2026 – Shaftesbury Rotary Club
• North Dorset Cycle Ride May 10th 2026 – Shaftesbury Rotary Club
