On Wednesday 6 March 2019 and Friday 8 March 2019, a total of 56 students took part in a Jack Petchey Speak Out workshop. 

The workshop was run by Fiona Whytehead of The Speaker’s Trust and she guided our students through a series of games and activities designed to improve their confidence and their ability to speak out in public. 

It was a privilege to watch the students develop over the course of the day, and they all finished by delivering a successful and engaging speech in front of their peers. Speech topics ranged from French bulldogs to education for teenagers with illnesses to anxiety, responsibility and fairness vs equality. Ms Whytehead said that she was very impressed with our students and the quality of their speeches.

Nine students have been chosen to take part in the next stage. This will take the form of an internal competition in school to select the two students who will go through to the Regional Finals on Thursday 9 May 2019.

Student feedback showed that they felt the experience was positive, reporting an improvement in their confidence and their ability to effectively get their point across. One student said it was an “exciting, fun way to find my voice”.

Ms V Bailey
English Teacher