Oracy Launch 2017 

Monday 2nd October marked the launch of Oracy at SJP. Pupils were given an insight into the differences between exploratory talk and structured talk in their PSHE lesson and invited to join the new Speak Up!, Up for Debate and Debating Societies.  We’re passionate about training and encouraging our pupils to be confident and effective public speakers and research shows that learning through talking aids memory and fosters deeper learning.

On Wednesday 4th October we joined 6000 schools across the country to participate in the Communication Trust’s ‘No Pens Day’ event. Both teachers and pupils put their pens down for a whole day to allow lessons to be focused on speaking and listening tasks. These ranged from discussion and group work tasks to presentations, and created a fantastic buzz of enthusiastic learning around the College.

Some highlights were in Y13 Food Science and Nutrition, where pupils swapped working independently to working collaboratively. Students worked in pairs, sharing the ingredients, and had to communicate effectively when making Jaffa Cakes to ensure a successful bake that Paul Hollywood would be proud of! In Y7 Spanish, pupils used their puppets to interview each other and recorded several minutes of conversation in Spanish, ¡muy impresionante! In Geography Y9 pupils participated in a climate change simulation game whilst Y10 pupils created a news item about a tectonic event and presented to the class. Y12 Business students were in role as stakeholders delivering a presentation on how they have both positively and negatively impacted on their business. It was a great day which certainly got pupils talking. Look out for plenty more Oracy focused activities throughout the year as we work together to develop our young people’s speaking and listening skills.