Barry Comprehensive School

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Year 10 debate team members Robin Johns and Liam Townsend under the watchful eye of Chair Liam Stait prepare to take part in the Rotary Club Debate on February 2nd. Their topic, chosen themselves, is the current political hot potato ‘Smoking in public place’

Barry Comprehensive School has been chosen as one of the winners of the BT Schools Awards 2005-2006.

These awards reward schools who demonstrate their commitment to helping pupils understand and enjoy the benefits of improved interpersonal communication skills.

The skills the awards highlight include constructive dialogue, helping those around you have better conversations and making the most of every discussion, whatever your role in it. In school, these skills are developed through Speaking and Listening which is at the heart of teaching and learning in the English Department and underpins learning in the whole school.

Ms Ford, Head of English explains, “As a single-sex boys school we

understand that Speaking and Listening is a preferred learning style for many of our pupils. The boys enjoy structured Speaking and Listening activities and this work then feeds into their extended writing tasks. We have a range of these activities built in to our scheme of work, for example, pupils have devised their own ‘Room 101’ programme where they challenge members of the class to submit people and things to room 101 forever – we can still hear Crazy Frog! Results are always fed back to pupils so that they have their own Speaking and Listening records. Teachers set targets but the boys also set targets for themselves and their peers. Year 10 pupils run their own debating society with regular lunchtime sessions that are often engaging and very funny with the boys employing wit and humour as an excellent language tool. The truth is that language is that language is power and we are totally committed to this.”