From primary to Priory - the English department

Thursday was the English Department’s turn to welcome primary school pupils into its classrooms when they joined us for a Public Speaking workshop.  

The Gifted & Talented pupils from Priory’s feeder schools were challenged to deliver a speech about their hobby with the final aim to convince their peers to try it too.

Led by English teacher, Miss Simpkin with support from Miss Smith, it was a quiet start due to the mixture of new faces; pupils didn’t know each other and were nervous and a little reluctant.

After ice breaker exercises to get their voices heard, pupils mind-mapped ideas about their hobby as they started to become a bit more excited and willing to share their thoughts.  The class looked at good examples of speeches and started to get a better idea of the task ahead.   With planning well underway, Miss Simpkins said, “The group were really keen on getting their ideas down on paper as they started to draft their speeches”.

After lunch the nerves started to get the better of some of the young pupils as the speeches became imminent.   However, more ice breakers soon resulted in eagerness for willing volunteers to deliver their final talk.  

At the end of the day, Miss Simpkin commented, “Pupils left Priory more confident to speak to a room full of strangers.  The speeches were beautifully written and extremely well spoken with some very impressive vocabulary!”