Teacher feedback

We had 13 students attend, with a wide range of skills and needs, including SEND. It was fantastic to see every student actively involved. They worked in teams, small groups, and individually, even with peers they don’t usually interact with in school.

What really stood out was the positive support during the final presentations. Some speeches were shorter than others, but there was no judgment just encouragement. You could clearly see all their confidence grow throughout the day. Thank you for delivering such an inclusive and well-structured experience.

SBY has been teaching young people to communicate with confidence for the last decade; communication skills and public speaking form part of all our programmes. This coming year we are delighted that The John James Bristol Foundation is partnering with us to deliver formal public speaking workshops. Speak with Spark focuses on improving participants’ presentation skills, and their confidence in orating to an audience.

Every student on the programme participates in a full day Public Speaking Workshop where they develop their communication skills, before constructing and delivering an engaging presentation on a topic of their choosing.

At the end of the workshop, participants are offered the chance to take part in the Speak with Spark Competition where they will go head-to-head with students from other cohorts to deliver a speech at a special event.

John James was a Bristol born businessmen who became a philanthropist providing funding to support health, education and the elderly in Bristol.

The John James Bristol Foundation continues to support charitable organisations, like SBY, who work to improve the lives of people in Bristol and has made grants of over £48 million to date to more than 1,000 organisations across the City. To learn more about the work they do please visit their website.