Join | Donate | Volunteer:

Join

Become part of a 5,000+ community which believes that speaking and listening skills are central to personal fulfilment and cultural understanding

Become a member

Donate

One-off or regular donations are vital to our work, helping us ensure that young people everywhere have the oracy skills they need to thrive

Donate

Volunteer

We’re hugely grateful to those who volunteer their time in helping to organise and run ESU programmes and competitions. Find out how you could help

Volunteer

‘We rely on the generous support of our members, donors and volunteers to ensure we can reach those children who need our help most’

Home > ESU branches in England and Wales > Canterbury & Kent

Canterbury & Kent

About us

Welcome to the Canterbury and East Kent Branch of the English-Speaking Union!

Canterbury is a beautiful and ancient cathedral city. It is the seat of The Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the worldwide Anglican church, which traces its history back to the 7th-century visit of St Augustine, the first Christian missionary to the Kingdom of Kent.

We run a regular and wide-ranging programme of events, including our VI Form Shakespeare day for local schools. The profits we make from these events are primarily intended to support the educational aims of the English-Speaking Union by organising and supporting local heats of the UK Public Speaking Competition, Schools’ Mace and Performing Shakespeare. Our particular focus at present is on enabling maintained schools to run mentor-led Discover Your Voice workshops which train both teachers and children in public speaking and debating skills. We also support any students who win a place on the prestigious Secondary Schools Exchange programme which is co-run with ESU USA.

There are regular opportunities to be involved in these and many other programmes as an organiser, mentor or adjudicator.

So, if you are passionate about helping to equip the young with the life skills and confidence they so need in today’s world, please get in touch. You will be making a real difference to your local community as well as joining a worldwide organisation dedicated to improving the life chances of young people everywhere.

We look forward to welcoming you to our branch!

George Metcalfe

related content

Support our work

We rely on the generous support of our members, donors and volunteers to ensure we can reach those children who need our help most.
Competition
A picture of a young female debater standing in front of a fireplace inside the ESU London's office building at Dartmouth House.

Public Speaking Competition

Largest public speaking competition for schools in England and Wales, for students in Years 9 to 11

ESU branches in England and Wales

Find out more about how you can support the development of oracy in your local area.

Give more young people the speaking and listening skills to thrive

Donate

Become a member

Volunteer

Support our work


Registered charity number: 273136

Dartmouth House, 37 Charles Street, London W1J 5ED. Tel. 020 7529 1550

© 2023 English-Speaking Union. All rights reserved.

Share Page