We would like to inform you that the offices of English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. will be closed from 23rd December 2020 – 1st January 2021 inclusive, for the festive period. We will reopen on Monday 4th January, 2021.
Please be assured that all queries will be answered as soon as we return.
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to working with you in 2021.
We wish you all a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year from the ESB Team.
Further recognition has come in for ESB’s Honorary Vice-President and Trustee, Merriel Halsall-Williams following her recent award of a Fellowship of the prestigious Girls’ Schools Association.
Not only has Merriel received a congratulatory letter from Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, Mrs Anna Turner JP, praising her for her outstanding achievements but her work has also been acknowledged in the Shropshire Star.
Having been involved with ESB for more than 60 years, Merriel continues to support learners to develop key oracy and literacy skills. ESB’s qualifications inspire a level of confidence which is key to unlocking their potential and raising achievement. The development of effective communication skills, alongside an accredited qualification, gives learners a clear advantage when applying for a place in college, university or in the job market.
Continuing to successfully engage our learners through online assessments, we are pleased to report that 60 learners from Bournemouth Collegiate School, Dorset, recently undertook their ESB Level 1 Award in Speech (Grade 3).
ESB’s adapted online assessments give the closest experience to learners’ usual face to face assessments. By welcoming the ‘new norm’ and adopting a ‘can do’ attitude to the whole process, both ESB’s assessor, Jillian Evans and teacher Rhiannon Lawton were able to achieve the best outcome for the learners over the three days of assessment.
Rhiannon Lawton says, “Jillian Evans was utterly incredible and really went above and beyond for my students in challenging circumstances.”
Equally full of praise for the learners who were committed to their assessments and for Rhiannon’s dedication to preparing the learners for their assessment, Jillian adds: “ ‘It was a very busy three days. The success of the assessment depended on understanding that the key was to help the candidates feel as confident as possible in a virtual setting and on supporting the member of staff who had put in so much time and effort preparing the candidates. It really was a very positive experience where the learners were able to showcase what they could do. There was a real sense of achievement at the close of each session.”
Tina Renshaw, ESB’s Chief Executive says, “ESB would like to give 3 cheers to Jillian and all our trusted and experienced assessors who have adapted so wonderfully to the online assessment challenges posed by the current situation. They are fantastic and we are very proud of them all!”
Our supportive Speech assessments aim to improve oracy and literacy skills whilst inspiring a level of confidence which learners can carry with them throughout life. By raising achievement and enriching learning by promoting clear, effective communication, ESB prepares learners for their progression in school, further and higher education and the world of work. With more employers now seeking social and problem-solving skills, communications skills are vital for personal and professional success.
ESB continues to keep learners achieving with its delivery of online assessments.
During a recent online assessment at Shropshire’s Old Hall School, all learners were in high spirits at the prospect of this new experience and displayed great enthusiasm during their ESB’s Entry Level Award in Speech (Entry 2).
One learner, unable to attend the assessment on the day, was given the opportunity to present his talk at a later date to ESB assessors – Sunil Naphray – demonstrating our flexibility during this pandemic.
James Thorpe, the Director of Music at the Old Hall School says: ‘All of the children came out of the exam beaming and talking about how much they enjoyed the experience which is exactly what we hope for. Many of our more reserved children have already said that they would ‘love to do it again’ – a ringing endorsement if ever there was one.’
ESB Assessors on the day, Louise Fox and Sunil Naphray were overwhelmed with the exceptional standard of Old Hall School’s learners.
Sunil says: ‘It was a great honour and privilege to have undertaken ESB assessments at such a marvellous school. The children were outstanding and coped really well with the adaptive assessment via Google Meets. Equally so, the supporting staff were tremendous and worked extremely well with myself to ensure the children had a great experience. The children will continue making great strides in the learning from their ESB. Well done!’
Louise adds: ‘The children were extremely well prepared, full of energy and, enthusiastic for their new online assessment. They all embraced the experience and brought in some super visual aids to complement their talks. A positive and encouraging day was had by all!’
For further information about our adapted assessments, please click here.
We are thrilled that our wide range of accessible qualifications and assessments continue to be an enjoyable experience for our learners, developing confident communication and boosting progression and employability.