This week, we published our impact report celebrating ten years of Voice 21. In the past decade, we have empowered more than 16,000 teachers and 4,000 school leaders with the expertise and resources needed to embed oracy into their classrooms and across their schools. Our reach has expanded dramatically—from just 12 schools in 2015 to partnering with 1,138 schools annually today. This means that since 2015, over half a million students in Voice 21 Oracy Schools have benefited from a high-quality oracy education.

Just 10 years ago, oracy was an unfamiliar concept in schools. Now 1 in 10 schools have a dedicated Oracy Lead, a role that didn’t exist a decade ago! Oracy has gone from the margins to the mainstream – all because our schools have chosen to ‘fly the flag’ for oracy, recognising the difference it makes for  students and then making that happen. It’s the hard graft, passion and vision of School Oracy Leads, Oracy Champions, headteachers, teachers and  whole school teams that is building the expertise and evidence, to help shape  oracy education to be the best it can be. 

At Voice 21, we know how essential it is that oracy becomes an ordinary part of education, in every school, every day, so that every child can use their voice to thrive in school, work and life. Oracy education benefits students’ learning, their confidence and well-being, their relationships, readiness to make the most of the world of work and their sense of belonging and pride in who they are and where they come from. 

We’ve heard a fair bit recently about the ‘covid generation’ and the ‘anxious generation’, but our hope is that we can grow a new ‘Oracy Generation’ who have speaking, listening and communication skills woven throughout their entire school life. 

Together we can change the education system so that the Oracy Generation is one in which every child can use their voice to thrive in school, work and life and that in time, their collective voices can change the world.

Read our Impact Report 2015 – 2025 here.