Secondary oracy activities

This House believes that computers are better than books

Six tech-savvy and well-read primary pupils from Hackney debate this motion which is so relevant for all in education today.

This House believes schools should exclude bullies

KS3 pupils (11-15 years old) from the Beacon School in Surrey debate this motion using a 3-a-side format with a floor debate. The video on..

How to prepare for a debate

Students from Clapton Girls’ Academy show us the key steps to prepare as a team for a debate, using the BP format.

This House would abandon nuclear power

Teams of 3 give 8-minute speeches and engage in rigorous analysis using the World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) format.

This House would ban cars from city centres

Students from Clapton Girls’ Academy debate this interesting Geography motion in British Parliamentary (BP) format.

This House would lower the voting age to 12

14 year-old pupils from Bury St Edmunds debate an engaging politics motion in a 3-a-side format with floor debate.

This House believes that the Treaty of Versailles was the main cause of World War II

GCSE pupils from Hackney debate this history exam classic in a 2-a-side format with audience questions.

This House believes that it is worse to eat too much than to eat too little

Weighty arguments in our lean, mean 2-a-side format with plenty of audience questions for dessert.

This House believes that Romeo and Juliet’s parents were responsible for their children’s deaths

Two debate teams, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene …

Rebuttal tennis

The ball’s in your court, as singles and doubles players line up for some quick-witted rallies of responses.

Boxing match debate

“Roll up, roll up for the boxing match debate”, the Noisy Classroom’s big-hitter for differentiation and teamwork.

Where do you stand?

Are you on one side, or the other? Who occupies the centre ground? Are you part of a group or out on a limb?

Make a change

A quick exercise based on the timeless question, “what would you do if you could change the world?”

This House believes that we should only eat food produced in Britain

There are lots of reasons why we might decide only to eat food from our own country, and patriotism is only one of them.

Presentations: Body Language

In this video, Alison looks at how you can make your presentations more powerful by using effective body language.

Presentation skills: vocal variety

Improve your presentation skills by focusing on vocal variety.

Exploring Internet Censorship

Cerys looks at the issue of regulating and censoring the internet and explores examples from around the world.

What should we ban?

Cerys looks at how societies decide what to ban

Quotas

Cerys looks at the arguments for and against using quotas as a form of affirmative action

A History of Pride

Cerys takes a look at the history of the Pride Festival.

Presentations: Introductions & Conclusions

Developing strong introductions and conclusions for your presentations. In this video, Alison explains the importance of a strong introduction and conclusion when planning a presentation,..

Presentations: Breathing & Resonance

Breathing & resonance are two essential considerations when delivering a presentation – it’s no good being clear and distinct if your listeners can’t hear what..

This House believes that the Olympics will be good for Hackney

A great example of a topical and geographically-specific topic from 2012; what similar motions might you set?

This House believes that kids can make a big difference to the environment

As part of the Linklaters Hackney Debate Challenge, primary school pupils from the borough debated whether young people can make a difference to the environment...

Developing communication skills through family board games

Our Learning & Development Manager, Alison, explains how you can help your children to develop their communication skills during COVID-19. This video focuses on board..