Rotorua: John Paul College student wins first place in speech competition
Niksha Pardal, a 15-year-old student from Rotorua, won a national speech competition and has been invited to participate in a mock debate at Parliament. Her winning speech explored the role of imagination in human evolution and empathy.
Why it matters
Highlighting youth achievement in public speaking fosters civic engagement and encourages academic excellence.
John Paul College Year 11 student Niksha Pardal won her category in the 2026 GreatTalk National Speech competition.
A 15-year-old Rotorua student has been invited to Parliament for a “mock debate” after winning a national speech competition.
Niksha Pardal, a John Paul College Year 11 student, won her category in the 2026 GreatTalk National Speech competition for students.
The final was held at the University of Auckland on September 13.
Niksha told the Rotorua Daily Post she won out of four finalists in the Year 11 to 13 category.
Their assigned speech topic was “imagination is more important than knowledge”, she said.
“At first, obviously that sounds kind of silly because, at school, all we’re taught is to learn about knowledge.
“But I dove deeper ... into the fact that it’s actually what drives us to gain knowledge, and it’s what’s [driven] us to evolve the way we have.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in