The English-Speaking Union (ESU) is an international educational membership organistation. Founded by the journalist Sir Evelyn Wrench in 1918, it aims to bring together and empower people of different languages and cultures, by building skills and confidence in communication, such that individuals realise their potential. With 35 branches in the United Kingdom and over 50 international ESUs in countries around the world, the ESU carries out a variety of activities such as debating, public speaking and student exchange programmes, runs conferences and seminars, and offers scholarships, to encourage the effective use of the English language around the globe. The aims of the English-Speaking Union (as stated on its website) are: # The mutual advancement of education of the English-speaking world, respecting the traditions and heritage of those with whom we work whilst acknowledging the current events and issues that affect them. # The use of English as a shared language and means of international communication of knowledge and understanding, provided always that these are at all times pursued in a non-political and non-sectarian manner. These aims are taken from the ESU's Royal Charter.

Governance

The ESU was established in 1918 through the efforts of Sir Evelyn Wrench. In 1957 it received a Royal Charter, with

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

as the royal patron.

Princess Anne, The Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

, has been president since 2013, having taken over from her father Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who served from 1952 to 2012. Headquartered at Dartmouth House,

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

, London, its many activities are coordinated by the director-general. The sixteen-member board of governors meets four times a year, and is presided over by the chair. Directors-general *

Sir Frederick Whyte Sir Alexander Frederick Whyte (30 September 1883 – 30 July 1970) was a British civil servant, Liberal Party politician, writer, and journalist. From 1920 to 1925 he served as the first President of the new Central Legislative Assembly of B ...

(1938) * Air Chief Marshal Sir

Douglas Evill Air Chief Marshal Sir Douglas Claude Strathern Evill, (8 October 1892 – 22 March 1971) was an Australian-born Royal Naval Air Service pilot and squadron commander during the First World War. Serving in the Royal Air Force between the wars, h ...

(1947–1949) * Frank Darvall (1949–1957) * Air Chief Marshal Sir Francis Fogarty (1957–1964) * Morris Barr (1964–?) *

Wynn Hugh-Jones Sir Wynn Normington Hugh-Jones, LVO, (1 November 1923 – 5 July 2019), sometimes known as Sir Hugh Jones, was a British diplomat, administrator and Liberal Party official. Hugh-Jones was born at Llangollen in north Wales where his father was H ...

(1973–1977) * Major-General David Crichton Alexander (1977–1979) * Alan Lee Williams (1979–1986) * Richard Heaslip (1987–1989) * David Hicks (1989–1991) * David Thorp (1991–1994) * Valerie Mitchell (1994–2009) * Mike Lake (2009–2011) * Peter Kyle (2011–2014 ) * Jane Easton (2014-) Chairs * Peter Jennings (2014–2015) *

Paul Boateng, Baron Boateng Paul Yaw Boateng, Baron Boateng (born 14 June 1951) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent South from 1987 to 2005, becoming the UK's first Black Cabinet Minister in May 2002, when he was appointe ...

(2015–2019) *

Professor James Raven Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

(2020-2021) * Miles Young (2021-2022) *

Philip Maunder Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

(2022-present)

Oracy

The ESU believes oracy – speaking and listening skills – should be at the centre of the school curriculum, and actively encourages the development of these skills through education and competition. The ESU's education department runs The ESU Schools Mace, the oldest and largest debating competition for schools in England. Several alumni have gone on to be part of Team England or Team Wales (both funded and managed by the ESU) at the annual World Schools Debating Championships – a two-week tournament whose recent venues include Peru, Cape Town, Turkey and Thailand. Speech-led competitions include Performing Shakespeare (a national contest for secondary school students), the ESU-Churchill National Public Speaking Competition for Schools and the International Public Speaking Competition, which reaches over one million young people in more than 50 countries every year. National winners meet in London for the final, part of a five-day programme of events including public speaking, debating and performance workshops, and cultural excursions. Alongside these competitions, the ESU also runs games-led debate and public speaking workshops in schools, guides schools on setting up and maintaining their own debate clubs, and provides a range of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for teachers in the fields of speech and debate.

Secondary School Exchange Programme

British students, having completed their

A-Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

s, can spend two or three terms at a private

prep school Preparatory school or prep school may refer to: Schools *Preparatory school (United Kingdom), an independent school preparing children aged 8–13 for entry into fee-charging independent schools, usually public schools *College-preparatory school, ...

in the United States or Canada during their gap year. In return American students come to British schools. Originally known as the ''British and American Schoolboy and Schoolgirl Exchange'', the programme was created in 1928. Former British ESU student exchange scholars include: * Sir Ian Blair ( Harvard-Westlake School) – commissioner of the Metropolitan Police * Sir John Bond ( Cate School 1959) – chairman of

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

Sir Richard Dearlove Sir Richard Billing Dearlove (born 23 January 1945) was head of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), a role known informally as "C", from 1999 until 6 May 2004. He was in his role as head of MI6 during the invasion of Iraq. He was b ...

( Kent School) – director of MI6 *

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show ''French and Saunders'' with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Saunde ...

( Spence School) – actress and comedian * Michael Davies (

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent selective college-preparatory boarding & day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approxim ...

) - television producer/personality *

Chris Hawkins Christopher Charles Hawkins (born 23 September 1975) is a British radio presenter, DJ, and music pundit. Hawkins is a regular early morning presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music. He can also be heard presenting documentary programmes on BBC Radio ...

( Tabor Academy) – radio presenter *

KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song " Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on '' Later... with Jools Holland''. Th ...

( Kent School) – popular musician * Quentin Letts ( Bellarmine College) - writer *

Tim Footman Tim Footman (born 1968) is an English author, journalist and editor. He was educated at Churcher's College, Appleby College in Canada, the University of Exeter, and Birkbeck University. He is the author of a number of books about popular music, ...

( Appleby College) – writer. American ESU student exchange scholars include: * Howard Dean – former Governor of Vermont and U.S. presidential candidate *

Heather J. Sharkey Heather J. Sharkey (born 1967) is an American historian of the Middle East and Africa, and of the modern Christian and Islamic worlds. Her books and articles have covered topics relating to nationalism, imperialism, colonialism, postcolonial studi ...

– historian in the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania

The US–UK Debate Tour Exchange

Two outstanding British student debaters are chosen each year to tour approximately 30 states over three months. The

ESU USA Tour Esu or ESU may refer to: People * Esu Niemelä (1921–1999), Finnish politician * Ivara Esu (born 1951), Nigerian academic administrator * Ozak Esu (born 1991), Nigerian engineer ;Characters * Eshu, a Yoruba divinity Places * Essaouira-Mo ...

is one of the most prestigious awards in University debating. In return two American debaters visit universities and institutions in the UK. The programme was established in 1922. Alumni of the British team include: * Rab Butler (1924) – Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary * Michael Ramsey (1925) -Archbishop of Canterbury *

Hans-Jürgen von Blumenthal Hans-Jürgen Graf von Blumenthal (23 February 1907 – 13 October 1944) was a German aristocrat and Army officer in the Second World War who was executed by the Nazi régime for his role in the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Bio ...

(1930) – member of the July 20 Plot to assassinate Hitler * Michael Foot (1934) – leader of the Labour Party * Edward Heath (1939) – Prime Minister * Tony Benn (1947) – Labour cabinet minister * Robin Day (1949) – broadcaster * William Rees-Mogg (1951) – editor of ''The Times'' * Patrick Mayhew (1953) – Northern Ireland Secretary * Brian Walden (1958) – broadcaster * Leon Brittan (1961) – Vice-president of the European Commission *

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...

(1963) – leader of the Conservative Party * Jonathan Aitken (1964) – Conservative politician and former journalist * Norman Lamont (1965) – Chancellor of the Exchequer * Peter Bazalgette (1976) – businessman with interests in the media *

Nicholas Mostyn Sir Nicholas Anthony Joseph Ghislain Mostyn KC (born 13 July 1957 in Lagos, Nigeria), styled The Hon. Mr Justice Mostyn, is a British High Court judge, assigned to the Family Division. Early life The son of a British American Tobacco executiv ...

(1981) – High Court judge * Ian Duncan (1995) – MEP and UK Government minister * Lewis Iwu (2010) – Director, Fair Education Alliance as well as a significant number of MPs, QCs and other notable figures.

International ESUs

The ESU's International Headquarters is located in London, and there are over 50 national ESUs around the world.

Australia

Charles Duguid, Scottish medical practitioner and

Aboriginal rights activist Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the Indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the rights over their land (includ ...

, helped to found the Australian branch of the ESU in Adelaide, South Australia, and was chairman from 1932 to 1935.

Music scholarships

The ESU offers funding for places at top conservatoires for music students. Alumni include Tasmin Little and Nigel Kennedy, both violinists.

Lindemann Trust Fellowship

The Lindemann Trust Fellowships are a prestigious research grant awarded to postdoctoral scientists of "exceptional promise" in the pure and applied physical sciences, designed to enable British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

citizens resident in the UK to perform research in the USA. They have been administered by the ESU since 1972 and were established as a result of a bequest from Brigadier Charles Lindemann. Brigadier Lindemann trained as a physicist with his brother, Lord Cherwell, at the University of Berlin, after which he served as scientific advisor of the British Army and subsequently at the British Embassy in Washington during the Second World War. The Lindemann Fellowships were created as a result of his will, where Brigadier Lindemann directed that his residual estate "be used to assist men and women with outstanding potential to become distinguished scholars or teachers in their chosen field".http://www.esu.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/37662/Lindemann-Notes-for-Applicants-2016.pdf Fellowships are awarded following a rigorous application process, undertaken by a committee, chaired by

, Deputy Chairman of the ESU, which represents the full range of scientific fields eligible for a fellowship. In 2017 the panel comprised: Professor Dirk Aarts – Christ Church; Professor Paul Beer – Wadham College; Professor Ben Berks – Wadham College; Professor Roger Davies – Christ Church; Dr Martin Grossel – Southampton; Dr Karen Mooney-McAuley – Queens University Belfast; Professor Sir David Read – Royal Society and Professor Mary Rees – Liverpool University.

Notes

External links

*
ESU Centre for Speech and Debate website
* {{Authority control 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom Commonwealth Family Educational charities based in the United Kingdom Educational organisations based in London English language English nationalism Organizations established in 1918 Public speaking organizations