At the beginning of the day for the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge, we did an individual speech about something we liked and disliked, a hope we have for the future and 3 words to describe ourselves; we had to start the speech with a question. We then had to go in groups and decide the most important top tip when presenting a speech.

The next task was that we had to prepare questions to ask. Then, we were asked a question by a fellow student and we had to answer the question on the spot.

The final task was the actual Speak Out Challenge and this was less terrifying than at the beginning of the day... I got together in a group where we practised our speech and got some feedback as to how we could improve it. This was great as I really benefited from the feedback. The Speak Out Challenge was to present about a topic we chose to talk about. It made us feel more confident and comfortable to speak to an audience.

We learnt oracy skills: how to present a speech by projecting your voice, eye contact, hand gestures, great posture, practice and many more other helpful tips. These oracy skills will help us in the future: job interviews, presenting your work to your colleagues at conferences and speaking at events.

Joane Santos, [10O]

“The workshop really helped improve my skills on how to deliver a speech effectively. I only had a vague idea on how to write one, not so much deliver. I really liked the different activities throughout the day leading up to the speech as talking in front of people is something I avoid doing!”

Ayma Babar, [10G]

“The workshop was great, it gave all of us the opportunity to take a subject that is close to us and gave us a way in which we could effectively convey our opinions on that matter. The workshop gave me a lot of confidence and skills that will benefit me all the way from school assembly to job interviews. It was a delightful day.” Ben Rixon, 10 White