Curro Westbrook orator to shine on national stage
27 August 2025Lihle Hlati, Grade 11, Curro Westbrook's top English orator for 2025, is on her way to the national stage of the prestigious On the Tip of Your Tongue (Op die Tong Af) competition. Facing some of the best schools in the Eastern Cape, she showcased her intellect, talent and confidence, receiving glowing praise.
She received glowing feedback from the adjudicators with an impressive A++ for her effort. This secured her a place to represent both Curro Westbrook and the Eastern Cape at the national finals in October.
When asked about her chosen topic, Lihle shared the following:
'I selected the topic "Morality is subjective — no one is truly good or evil" for my persuasive oral because I wanted to spark debate. My fascination [with morality] began with Shakespeare’s Othello. The character of Iago has always intrigued me — is he truly evil, or just a man driven by jealousy and ambition? The fact that critics still argue about him centuries later proves how blurry morality really is.
Thinkers like Machiavelli also question whether virtue and vice can ever be separated. And Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power shows how actions often condemned as manipulative are also the very tools that leaders use to succeed. If those who rise to power use "immoral" strategies, are they villains – or simply human?
For me, this is why morality is endlessly fascinating. It’s not black and white, but a shifting grey area shaped by culture, ambition, and circumstance.'
May others, through Lihle’s example, be encouraged to find something about which they are deeply passionate, and find a way to express it. As Neil Strauss said: 'Great things never come from comfort zones.'