Speak Up Scotland!

Speak Up Scotland! Is a new initiative being jointly organised by the English-Speaking Union in Scotland and Scottish Schools Debating. The two charities are joining forces in a project which will encourage debating in Scotland's more deprived schools, through a series of workshops, competitions and a summer camp, with a target group of S1 and S2 pupils. The purposes of the project are to boost confidence in oral communication skills among less privileged young people, thus articulating with the Scottish Governments stated intentions to close the poverty-related attainment gap; we also believe that, through widening access to debating, in time the overall quality of Scottish Schools debating will be improved at national and international level.

Similar projects have achieved evidence-based success in England and in the United States, and we are hopeful that by harnessing the expertise of school coaches, university debaters and other teachers we can change the lives of many Scottish young people and give them a new voice.

The project, which, if successful, will run over a two year cycle, will involve the hard work and input of both the administrative staff of the English-Speaking Union and many volunteers. We hope that you will consider supporting the project financially. Any donation will be very much appreciated! So please help us to get more of Scotland's young people to speak up!