Take a look at the exciting ESU events on offer, from lectures and recitals to our world-class competitions. We hope to see you at one of them soon!
ESU Events
Past Events › ESU Oracy
Events Search and Views Navigation
June 2019
ESU Performing Shakespeare Grand Final 2019
Description Join us on Friday, 21st June 2019 to see young people aged 11-14 from across England and Wales give a performance of their chosen speech from one of Shakespeare's plays. The Performing Shakespeare Competition is designed to allow Key Stage 3 pupils the opportunity to experience Shakespeare's plays as they were intended – on the stage. Using theatre and performance skills to engage with the texts, our performers bring to life some of the world's most famous speeches in…
Find out more »January 2020
ESU-Churchill Public Speaking Competition, Bristol Final
ESU-Churchill Public Speaking Competition, Bristol Final
Find out more »December 2020
ONLINE EVENT: WHY DO WE DEBATE?
Join us to explore the purpose of debate in civil society. The discussion, chaired by Prof. James Raven, Chair of the ESU, will be led by our panel: Dr Katie East, Lecturer in the History of Radical Ideas at Newcastle University; Bilal Mahmood, ESU Governor, senior legal consultant for China Construction Bank, and internationally acknowledged mentor to generations of young debaters; and Christopher L. Peterson, the Democratic candidate for the Governorship of Utah and John J. Flynn Endowed Professor of…
Find out more »December 2021
Notice of the 102nd Annual General Meeting of the English-Speaking Union
Notice is hereby given that the 102nd Annual General Meeting of the English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth will be held on Monday 6 December 2021 at 5pm at Dartmouth House, 37 Charles Street, London W1J 5ED. Mr David Shaw, Deputy Co-Chair of the Board of Governors, will preside. AGENDA Chair's Report Auditor's Report and Laying of the Accounts before the Members for the period ended 31 March 2021 To authorise the Board to fix the Auditors’ appointment and remuneration for…
Find out more »February 2022
Ouse Valley Branch: ‘Why oracy skills are vital to children’s development’ with Professor Neil Mercer
'Why oracy skills are vital to children's development' Professor Neil Mercer (University of Cambridge, and Director, Oracy Cambridge) in conversation with Barbara Firth, governor, the English-Speaking Union. Research has shown that children’s spoken language experience is very important for the development of their reasoning skills, their subject learning and their life chances in general. It is also known that many children’s out-of-school lives will not provide the kinds of experience they need to develop a full repertoire of spoken language…
Find out more »Sunday Show Debate at Dartmouth House
This House Believes that the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that we should prioritise security and safety over personal liberty. Join us for a lively show debate on Sunday, 27 February, 4pm. Among those debating in Mace format will be David Langwallner, Barrister at Law at 1MCB Chambers and writer; Tom Hamilton, Associate Director of WPI Strategy; and Marc Whitmore, CEO of UpRising. Please reserve your tickets here: https://esusundaydebate.eventbrite.co.uk This event will be supported by ‘Cassandra Voices’, the publisher of independent voices that…
Find out more »May 2022
ESU-Churchill Public Speaking Competition Grand Finals 2022
The prestigious ESU-Churchill Public Speaking Competition, sponsored by the International Churchill Society, is the largest such contest in England and Wales, with around 400 teams (each comprising a speaker, questioner and a chairperson). The different roles allow students to practice and excel in different skill sets, and the competition’s unique format, which pairs the speaker from one school with the chair and questioner of another, encourages quick thinking and relationship building. Thirteen teams have succeeded through almost five months of…
Find out more »International Public Speaking Competition
The ESU International Public Speaking Competition brings together the best young speakers from all over the world for a week of cultural exchange and public speaking contests. Established in 1980, it now reaches over one million young people in more than 50 countries across the globe, showcasing the highest standard of public speaking, while giving delegates an opportunity to meet and engage with other young people of different backgrounds and nationalities. This year’s finalists (national winners of the English-Speaking Union’s…
Find out more »June 2022
Zoom Event: The ESU Friendly International Forum hosted by ESU Poland
The ESU Friendly International Forum is an informal forum aimed at exchanging views, with an underlying aim of building future collaborations and initiatives. The host of the FIF moves between different ESUs internationally and each forum centres around a topic selected by the hosting nation. The topic of this fourth FIF, hosted by our Polish colleagues, will be: ‘What motivates us to promote public speaking in our respective countries?’ The ESU has always been a conduit to share and exchange…
Find out more »Ouse Valley Branch: Primary Public Speaking Competition
Ouse Valley branch will be holding a Primary Public Speaking Competition on Wednesday, 15 June at Bedford Prep School.
Find out more »
Registered charity number: 273136