Developing an oracy framework at school

In schools in the UK and UAE, I have enjoyed collaborating with students, teaching staff and parents to highlight the importance of quality talk. Students have developed their oracy skills by taking part in student focus groups, critical thinking lunch-time clubs, and specialist subject lectures.  Oracy is the ability to express yourself clearly and effectively through spoken language, to articulate ideas and engage with others through speaking, listening and communication.  

At all the schools I have worked at, I have always found ways to encourage students to develop oracy skills, whether that’s through critical thinking lunchtime clubs or subject sessions with staff and parents. 

In March 2025, I attended an information session from Samina Khan, director of undergraduate admissions and outreach at the University of Oxford. During the session, Khan highlighted the importance of students engaging in supercurricular activities in order to stretch their thinking. She emphasised that students would be expected to talk about their subject and demonstrate a love of learning as part of the interview process. 

Khan outlined to counsellors that University of Oxford data revealed an oracy skills gap between international students in the UAE and students in Europe. This was illustrated by charts comparing the lower final offer data for UAE international students with that for European students.

Unlike Cambridge, which interviews a higher percentage of students as part of its holistic review, Oxford’s process is linear and uses the admissions test to shortlist a smaller percentage of students, who are then interviewed. 

Acknowledging that I needed to get up to speed with the latest oracy research and programmes, I messaged two proactive colleagues, who were developing a whole-school oracy strategy. They introduced me to lots of brilliant resources and shared suggestions for how we could work together. 

Armed with their adaptations of the Voice 21 Oracy Framework I considered how to integrate this approach into the next round of Oxbridge mock interviews. 

I worked with the head of sixth form to increase the number of available interviewers in school, exposing students to unfamiliar faces and styles of questioning. 

In addition, whole-school literacy workshops delivered by teaching colleagues featured findings from our discussions on the importance of oracy skills in competitive university interviews. 

Before finalising the Class of 2026 Oxbridge interview approach, I organised a meeting with other counsellors in the region so that we could all share ideas and initiatives. Some 23 counsellors attended either in-person or online. 

Some of the initiatives with an oracy-focus that were taking place in our schools included using alumni and parent volunteers as subject specialists, symposium-style buddy systems, whole-school strategy groups and interdisciplinary, Socratic questioning. 

Counsellors reflected on the link between oracy and educational outcomes for our most able students who are applying to the world’s most competitive universities. We hoped our partnership and growing understanding would support all students and future pathways.

This year, two experiences at my school have shown me that students and parents are recognising the importance of oracy and are open to collaboration. The first was the Art of Talk lunchtime club, which encouraged students to explore unfamiliar topics and make interdisciplinary connections. Year 12 and 13 students conversed with school alumni about their subject interests and then used the Voice 21 Oracy Framework to conduct peer interviews.

The second event was a parent workshop planned by the literacy lead on the importance of oracy and the university interview process. 

The parents engaged in the research, picked up copies of the Oracy Framework, and asked brilliant questions, recognising that everyone in the room had the skills, resources and motivation to support their child at home. There was a strong sense of the school community coming together and an awareness that this work is necessary and will have a positive impact on all students.

As competitive universities and employers consider new tools to assess a growing pool of applicants, the interview remains a critical element. 

The inclusion of an oracy framework in the revised national curriculum is designed “to ensure more young people become confident and effective speakers”.

It is time to consider how our schools can collectively and creatively prepare young people for a range of interview formats in the future, and how the inclusion of an oracy framework in the national curriculum will reward students for talking about what they love.