The Grade 12 Melhuish Speeches

18 January 2026Fiona C, Hope ‘26

The season of Meluish has come again, and TCH’s students are working tirelessly, practicing aloud, and writing frantically between classes. We have 12 prompts this year, and ever since break, the biggest question echoing through the school campus has been: “What prompt are you doing?”

Each student must write a 90-120 second speech based on whichever prompt speaks to them the most. It’s a challenge that blends creativity, clarity, and courage condensed into those two minutes that will fly right past.

Our AP Literature 12 teacher, Mr Toby Collis Handford (TCH), has not let us walk into Melhuish unprepared. We have been constantly writing essays, learning simple AP lessons, and collectively working with our classmates, which extends our thinking to another level. We have learned how to approach the AP Literature and Composition exam by organizing our ideas clearly and communicating them with purpose and clarity. Liza D, Mack ‘26 says, “It’s a fun course and hearing everyone’s Melhuish speech definitely brings our silly AP Lit class closer together.”

As the speeches come together, the excitement (and tiny hints of nervousness) fill the air. Students quickly rehearse in the corners of the classroom, hallways, and dorm rooms, chasing the perfect delivery of a speech. Some aim to make the audience laugh. Tolani S, Privett ‘26 reflects, “I have waited days, even weeks to perform my funny speech with the help of my partner in crime, Archie B.” Others aim to make the class think: Amelia S, Mack ‘26 reflects, “I wanted to show the class how much people underestimate the deeper meaning of Taylor Swift’s songs because she executes it in such a beautiful way.”

And of course, what is a class with TCH without a few football analogies to further teach us in ways that are engaging and easy for us to understand. With fun classes filled with laughter, we have familiarized ourselves with the term ambiguity, as the course teaches us to embrace uncertainty and shape it into more than one interpretation. TCH says, “This class has been prepared since Term 1 as hard work has been put in for the AP LIT exam!”

Each Melhuish taught us something new about each other and they reminded us that presenting speeches can come with tons of laughter too.

Fiona C, Hope ‘26

Where Students Choose To Be