Oracy: Voice 21 Centre of Excellence

'The only way to find your voice is to use it'

Austin Kleon 

We are a Voice 21 Oracy Centre of Excellence 2025

We want children to become agile and confident communicators who can use their voice for academic and emotional success, enabling them to lead happy, healthy and fulfilled lives.

We are proud to have been recognised as a Voice 21 Oracy Centre of Excellence for our work in developing students' oracy (speaking, listening and communication) skills. 

Becoming a Voice 21 Centre of Excellence certifies and celebrates that we are leading the way in providing a high-quality oracy education for students and acting as a beacon of good practice for over 1000 schools nationwide.  In Voice 21 Oracy Schools, students learn the oracy skills they need to succeed in school and in life. 

Oracy, like reading, writing and arithmetic, is a foundational skill that ensures students thrive at school and in life.  By teaching students to become effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them.

• Speaking, listening and communication skills are critical foundations for reading and writing.

• Students with better oral language skills are more likely to achieve the highest grades in GCSE Maths and English.

• Young people with good communication skills are less likely to have mental health difficulties.

As a Voice 21 Oracy Centre of Excellence, we put oracy at the heart of our teaching and learning across all subject areas, enabling students to develop and deepen their knowledge and understanding through talk in the classroom.

We support our students to become articulate communicators who are able to present themselves confidently across a range of settings and contexts, from group discussions to formal presentations. 

In Voice 21 Oracy Schools:

• 89% of students agree/strongly agree that speaking and listening has helped them make progress with their school work.

• 77% of teachers said that oracy had boosted attainment.

• 96% of teachers said that oracy is an essential part of teaching and learning.

Find out more about oracy and Voice 21 here

About Voice 21

We believe that schools have the power to change a child’s life and create a fairer society. Oracy sets children up for success in school and life. Voice 21 supports schools to deliver high-quality oracy education by ensuring speaking, listening and communication is part of the curriculum, teaching and wider school life. Oracy is articulating ideas, developing understanding and engaging with others through speaking, listening and communication.  It supports children to get the best start in life and be ready to learn.

We work in the schools in which we can make the biggest difference. In Voice 21 schools, you will hear students solving problems collaboratively in maths and dissecting arguments in history, talking through conflicts in the playground and leading assemblies. Like literacy and numeracy, oracy is teachable. It is foundational for learning, work, creating healthy relationships with other people, and building stronger communities.