As the government focuses on oracy, Jonathan Noakes also commends training teachers to encourage school debates. Why is this move significant? Let’s find out.
A senior leader at Eton College stated that state schools in England should train teachers to encourage classroom discussion and establish debating clubs to help improve students’ oracy and speaking skills for life.
Teachers in state schools say they don’t have sufficient time or training to focus on oracy, even though they often work with disadvantaged students with additional special needs. Private schools, on the other hand, have greater resources to work on enrichment and life skills outside the demands of the GSCE.
The government has declared its intentions to make speaking skills an educational priority in all schools, and a new focus on oracy is expected to form part of the upcoming curriculum and assessment review.
A report by Sutton Trust titled Life Lessons 2024 disclosed that 96% of teachers believe life lessons are as important as or more important than formal education qualifications in determining how well young people thrive in adulthood.
50% of public school teachers say they neither have the training nor the time, and they are twice as likely as their colleagues in private institutions to say their schools don’t provide good opportunities for students to develop these non-academic skills.
Private schools like Eton College, where annual fees will increase from £52,749 to about £63,000 due to the government’s decision to add VAT in January, encourage the use of oracy at all times, as its records can testify. The Berkshire school have educated 20 prime ministers over the centuries, for public speaking is paramount.
Jonathan Noakes, Eton’s director of teaching and learning, stated that there are things Eton can do that public schools can’t replicate. Eton has a smaller class size, and almost all the students are confident speakers.
Noakes stated, “We teach through discussion. It is not OK for a boy at Eton not to speak in lessons – and that makes a big difference.” “We also specifically train teachers to run lessons as discussions. In a teacher’s first year at the school, we run coaching days for them throughout the year, and one of those looks at how best to generate discussions in class.”
“We want to make sure right at the beginning that they have these skills. But we also teach how to do a presentation more than once, and in more than one subject. Overall, these skills are practised again and again throughout the school.”
Noakes acknowledged some challenges, though many public schools have already worked effectively in developing children’s skills using spoken language.
He stated: “I’ve seen in state schools, where classes are 30 students or more, that it can be much more challenging to get everyone involved in discussions.” At Eton, sixth-form classes have eight to 12 pupils; in year nine, there are up to 22 pupils.
“State schools I’ve worked with, for example the London Academy of Excellence (which Eton is a partner school of), serve academically a very similar ability group of students to Eton, and they have chosen to have a specific oracy programme.”
“I think for most state schools, because their context is different, it makes sense to consider this approach, alongside specific training for teachers to encourage discussions in lessons. Debate clubs in state schools could I think also be an excellent way to help students to learn these skills.”
According to the report by the Sutton Trust, a survey revealed that 53% of private schools are likely to have debating clubs, compared to 18% of public schools. Also, about 37% of senior leaders say oracy is embedded in some subjects, such as English or history, while 31% say it is a lesson for all.
Alice Bryne, senior assistant head teacher for Stoke Park School, stated, “For us, oracy is embedded throughout the curriculum, from when students first start in year 7, right the way up into sixth form. In lessons, we specifically set aside time for students to talk.”
The founder of the Sutton Trust, Sir Peter Lampl, stated, “The ability to express ideas and thoughts confidently and articulately is essential for young people to advocate for themselves in university and job applications, and to get on in the world of work.”
