Today we have accredited 24 new Voice 21 Oracy Centres of Excellence. These schools from across the UK, including for the first time a school from Jersey, have been recognised for their outstanding commitment to delivering a high-quality oracy education for all their students. 

These schools have joined a broader movement of schools that have dedicated themselves to and excelled in building speaking and listening into their curriculum, teaching and learning and wider school life.

These schools have been through a rigorous process designed to celebrate successes, showcase excellence and identify areas for improvement. They have been assessed against five key benchmarks: Do they have an ambitious vision for oracy? Have they built a culture of oracy? Is their curriculum for oracy sustained and wide-ranging? Do they recognise oracy as central to learning? And are they accountable for the impact of oracy education? These 24 schools have been individually recognised as beacons of good practice for oracy across the school system.

The new Voice 21 Oracy Centres of Excellences will join a network of specialist schools exemplifying what a high-quality oracy education looks like. In doing so, they support schools in their community and beyond to build oracy in teaching and learning, the curriculum and wider school life, making society a fairer, more equitable place where all voices are valued and heard.