Dulwich Puxi Students Soar in English Speaking Board Assessment

Each year, Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi students take part in the English Speaking Board (ESB) assessments, an English national awarding organisation offering qualifications focused on communication skills at school and throughout life. This academic year students from Year 2 to Year 6 took part, yet again receiving exceptional results.

100% Pass
13% Good Pass
35% Merit
36% Merit +
15% Distinction

Mrs Walker, Year 5 Lead Teacher and Primary School English Lead, discusses the ESB, and why developing strong oracy, a core element of the ESB assessment, is a critical life-long skill for our students.

Vicky Walker
Year 5 Lead Teacher
Primary School English Lead
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ESB’s assessments are designed to develop English speaking and listening, presentation and critical thinking skills and are tailored to each year group, with tasks targeted to the English National Curriculum. The assessment style is unique, with students working with a supportive peer group of classmates. The assessment is conducted externally, but the students complete the tasks within school, providing a familiar environment where our students have the best chance of success. 

The Speak for Change reports, conducted in 2021, defines oracy as ‘our ability to communicate effectively using spoken language. It is the ability to speak eloquently, articulate ideas and thoughts, influence through talking, listen to others and have the confidence to express your views.’ (Speak for Change, 2021). In other words, oracy is an essential life skill which we need to support all pupils to develop. The report states that oracy matters because it:

• Improves educational outcomes
• Underpins literacy and vocabulary acquisition
• Supports well-being and confidence
• Enables young people to have access to employment and thrive in life beyond school
• Develops citizenship and agency

Oracy is also important for writing. The English National Curriculum writing objectives specify that pupils should compose and rehearse sentences orally before committing them to paper. After all, if pupils cannot construct sentences in dialogue that use grammatical elements they have been working on, such as conjunctions and fronted adverbials, how will they be able to use these in their writing? In this way, preparatory work for the ESB assessments supports all other areas of the curriculum and across a range of subjects.

The communication skills students develop throughout this process also support them as they transition to Senior School. For example, “Communicators” is one of the IB Learner Profiles and is defined in terms of expressing ourselves confidently and creatively in diverse ways, collaborating with others and listening to diverse perspectives of other individuals and groups. These are essential skills not just for in school, but in the wider world of work, and this is borne out in workplace data too. According to a survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council, 86% of employers prefer job applicants with great communication skills, and 83% responded that communication skills are a key consideration when employing new employees (GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey, 2021). Thus, the skills we start developing in the Primary School will stand our students in good stead regardless of the pathway they take when they are older. After all, as Paul J. Meyer said, “communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success”. Our hope is that long after our students leave this College, they take with them the lessons that will last a lifetime. 

Congratulations to all our students on their exceptional ESB scores, and for continuing to grow and develop their oracy skills.

References

Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) (2021) Corporate Recruiters 
SurveyMillard, Will & Menzies, Loic. (2020). Initial findings and recommendations from the Oracy
All-Party Parliamentary Group Inquiry Speak for Change. Speak for Change provides a synthesis of the evidence submitted to the UK Parliament's All Party Parliamentary Group on Oracy.