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 English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...

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 Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...

, 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 A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

, 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 her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

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 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

who served from 1952 to 2012. Headquartered at

Dartmouth House Dartmouth House is a Georgian house in Mayfair, central London, England. It now serves as the headquarters of the English-Speaking Union (ESU), an educational charity. It is located at 37 Charles Street, southwest of Berkeley Square. Over 40,0 ...

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 (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 Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings (July 29, 1938August 7, 2005) was a Canadian-born American television journalist who served as the sole anchor of '' ABC World News Tonight'' from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005. He dropped ...

(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 Peter Miles Young (born June 1954) is a British former businessman and the incumbent Warden of New College, Oxford. Until September 2016, he was worldwide chairman and CEO of the international advertising, marketing, communications, consulting ...

(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 Cate School is a highly selective, coeducational university-preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9-12 located in Carpinteria, California, Carpinteria, California, eleven miles from Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. T ...

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 Sau ...

(

Spence School , motto_translation = Not for school, but for life we learn , founder = Clara B. Spence , tuition = $60,880 (2022-2023) , chair = , head_label = , head ...

) – 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 4 ...

( 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''. The ...

( Kent School) – popular musician * Quentin Letts ( Bellarmine College) - writer * Tim Footman ( Appleby College) – writer. American ESU student exchange scholars include: *

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 200 ...

– former

Governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of 2 years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold gubernatorial elections every ...

and U.S. presidential candidate * Heather J. Sharkey – historian in the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

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 Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab, was a prominent British Conservative Party politician. ''The Times'' obituary ...

(1924) – Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary *

Michael Ramsey Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury, (14 November 1904 – 23 April 1988) was an English Anglican bishop and life peer. He served as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury. He was appointed on 31 May 1961 and held the office until ...

(1925) -Archbishop of Canterbury * Hans-Jürgen von Blumenthal (1930) – member of the

July 20 Plot On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. Th ...

to assassinate Hitler *

Michael Foot Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Labour Leader from 1980 to 1983. Foot began his career as a journalist on ''Tribune'' and the '' Evening Standard''. He co-wrote the 1940 ...

(1934) – leader of the Labour Party *

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

(1939) – Prime Minister *

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. A member of the Labour Party, ...

(1947) – Labour cabinet minister * Robin Day (1949) – broadcaster *

William Rees-Mogg William Rees-Mogg, Baron Rees-Mogg (14 July 192829 December 2012) was a British newspaper journalist who was Editor of ''The Times'' from 1967 to 1981. In the late 1970s, he served as High Sheriff of Somerset, and in the 1980s was Chairman of th ...

(1951) – editor of ''The Times'' * Patrick Mayhew (1953) – Northern Ireland Secretary * Brian Walden (1958) – broadcaster *

Leon Brittan Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, (25 September 193921 January 2015) was a British Conservative politician and barrister who served as a European Commissioner from 1989 to 1999. As a member of Parliament from 1974 to 1988, he serv ...

(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 posit ...

(1963) – leader of the Conservative Party *

Jonathan Aitken Jonathan William Patrick Aitken (born 30 August 1942) is a British author, Church of England priest, former prisoner and former Conservative Party politician. Beginning his career in journalism, he was elected to Parliament in 1974 (serving un ...

(1964) – Conservative politician and former journalist *

Norman Lamont Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, (born 8 May 1942) is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 until 1993. He was created a life peer ...

(1965) – Chancellor of the Exchequer * Peter Bazalgette (1976) – businessman with interests in the media * Nicholas Mostyn (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 use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kent Town, Adelaide , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place = ...

, 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 Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, 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 Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

, 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 th ...

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 The Humboldt University of Berlin (german: link=no, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick Will ...

, 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