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Posted on July 12th 2022
Step Up To The Mic! Harris Federation Oracy Championship 2022
Three Year 9 students, Stanley, David and Abdurrahim, represented HBAED at the Harris Federation Oracy Championship 2022, which took place at Harris St John's Wood yesterday.
The competition is based on work students produced as part of the English department’s brand-new Year 9 ‘Step Up to the Mic’ scheme of work, which aims to develop students’ voice and spoken language skills.
Each student delivered a speech for no longer than three minutes on a topic that they were passionate about. With students being assessed on the content, structure and delivery of their speech. The topics were:
- Stanley: "Owning a car: why my family doesn’t and you shouldn’t either."
- David: "Self-belief: words from an aspiring motivational speaker."
- AbdurRahim: "How the economy stops us from being eco-friendly."
Everyone commented on how strong each student was. Like a TED Talk, they all took the mic off its stand and owned the space!
Well done Stanley, David and AbdurRahim: collectively, as a school, we got the highest points, with Stanley (pictured below) also winning second place overall. He was awarded with brand new tablet and certificate, and he will receive his trophy in September.
AbdurRahim said...
"This was an excellent educational experience. I have learnt a lot about the power of good communication skills, particularly when it comes to the expression and delivery of my ideas. I have also learnt that it is important to be passionate about something in life and being able to share this passion on the stage, with over 60 people present, was truly a memorable experience."
David said...
"Through this whole process of preparing for the Oracy Championship, I never realised just how important the organisation and prioritisation of ideas were to communicate effectively. I want to be an orthopaedic surgeon when I am older and good oracy skills will enable me to communicate with colleagues and patients clearly and confidently."
Stanley said...
"This championship gave me an opportunity to look at the world from different perspectives; I really enjoyed listening to other people’s topics - including body image, cultural appropriation and issues surrounding a second language. As a future architect, I want to be able to effectively communicate my business ideas to clients and developing my public speaking skills, in lessons and for this championship, is enabling me to work towards that. This whole experience really has boosted my confidence!"
Thank you Harris Academy St John’s Wood for hosting the event. And thank you to those in the Federation for organising such a fantastic competition. Harris Boys’ will see you again next year!
Miss Udechuku
