The
English-Speaking Union Scotland (ESU Scotland) is an educational
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
charityA charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
whose purpose, shared with the
English-Speaking UnionThe English-Speaking Union is an international educational charity which was founded by the journalist Evelyn Wrench in 1918. The ESU aims to "bring together and empower people of different languages and cultures," by building skills and confidence in communication, such that individuals realize...
internationally, is to promote international understanding and human achievements through the widening use of the
English languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
throughout the world.
ESU Scotland is based in
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and retains close links with the ESU's international headquarters at
Dartmouth HouseDartmouth House is a large and luxurious Georgian house in Mayfair, central London, England. It now acts at the headquarters for the English-Speaking Union , an educational charity...
in
MayfairMayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
, London.
The mission statement for ESU Scotland is to:
- Promote global friendship and understanding through English
Debating and public speaking
In many circles the ESU is best known for its major educational activity, the promotion of debate as an educational tool. ESU Scotland runs the ESU Scotland Juniors' tournament, which in the 2008/9 school year received 130 entries from 84 schools.
The final took place at the Centre For The Contemporary Arts,
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. The winners were, narrowly, Jack Patterson and Harris Jones of
George Heriot's SchoolGeorge Heriot's School is an independent primary and secondary school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, with around 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff and 80 non-teaching staff. It was established in 1628 as George Heriot's Hospital, by bequest of the royal goldsmith George...
beating
Douglas AcademyDouglas Academy is a secondary school in Milngavie in the outskirts of Glasgow. In 2001, Douglas Academy was Scotland's top performing state school with 31% of students gaining five or more highers....
,
Aberdeen Grammar SchoolAberdeen Grammar School, known to students as The Grammar is a state secondary school in the City of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of twelve secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department...
and St. Columba's School, Kilmacolm in the final.
Former winners include Newcastle Royal Grammar School, Kirkcudbright Academy,
Grove AcademyGrove Academy is a secondary school in Broughty Ferry, Dundee. One of the most academically achieving schools in Scotland, Grove Academy enrolls approximately 1500 pupils, the majority of which are from Forthill, Eastern, and Barnhill primary schools...
and
Dollar AcademyDollar Academy was founded in 1818, which makes it the oldest co-educational day and boarding school in the world. The open campus occupies a site in the centre of the thriving town of Dollar in Central Scotland, less than 40 minutes drive from the two main Scottish cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh...
. Only
George Heriot's SchoolGeorge Heriot's School is an independent primary and secondary school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, with around 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff and 80 non-teaching staff. It was established in 1628 as George Heriot's Hospital, by bequest of the royal goldsmith George...
and Kirkcudbright Academy have won the Juniors on more than one occasion.
The final in Glasgow was a break from tradition. The final of the ESU Juniors is normally held in
The Scottish Parliament.
ESU Scotland also administers the Scottish legs of the
ESU Schools MaceThe English-Speaking Union Schools Mace is an annual debating tournament for secondary schools in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.The competition was founded in 1957 by the journalist Kenneth Harris of The Observer newspaper, and was initially known as The Observer Schools Mace...
, the ESU Public Speaking Competition and the
John Smith Memorial MaceThe John Smith Memorial Mace is an annual debating tournament contested by universities in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales....
(named after the former Labour leader and winner of the competition who died in 1994).
In 2009, The Schools Mace and the Public Speaking Competition were both also won by George Heriot's - the first ever time a school has won all three ESU trophies in one year. The Universities Mace was won, for the second year in a row, by the University of St. Andrews
ESU Scotland also teaches debate through Outreach Programmes, teacher training and the provision of resources. It was commissioned to write comprehensive learning resources by the
Scottish ExecutiveThe Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
in 2006. These can be found at
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/debatinginschools. In 2008, ESU Scotland was awarded follow-up funding to expand and promote these materials.
In 2009, thanks to charitable trust funding the ESU Scotland can work with over 40 schools from across Scotland by giving away free workshops.
As well as this ESU Scotland offers coaching support to branches and ESUs all over the world and is closely involved with the Scotland Schools Debating Team which competes in the
World Schools Debating ChampionshipsThe World Schools Debating Championships is an annual English-language debating tournament for high school-level teams representing different countries.In recent years, the championships have involved teams from over 40 nations each year.-History:...
each year. In 2007, the Scotland team won the World Schools Debating Championships.
Creative writing competition
ESU Scotland runs a creative writing competition in conjunction with the
National Galleries of ScotlandThe National Galleries of Scotland are the five national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries. It is one of the country's National Collections.-List of national galleries:* The National Gallery of Scotland* The Royal Scottish Academy Building...
and the
Scottish Poetry LibraryThe Scottish Poetry Library was founded in 1984 by the poet Tessa Ransford. It originally had two staff members, including Scottish poet, Tom Hubbard, and 300 books, but has since expanded considerably to containing 30,000 items of Scottish and international poetry...
. It is sponsored by the
Scottish Qualifications AuthorityThe Scottish Qualifications Authority is a non-departmental public body responsible for accreditation and awarding. It is partly funded by the Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate of the Scottish Government, employing 750 staff, based in Glasgow and Dalkeith...
and supported by
The ScotsmanThe Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
newspaper.
This competition requires entrants to write a poem or piece of prose inspired by one of the works in the collections of the National Galleries of Scotland. In 2007, the best entrants from the previous two years will be collated into a book.
EFL classes
ESU Scotland offers part-time English language classes for students at all levels, from beginners to advanced. It holds most classes at the ESU in the centre of Edinburgh or at its Learning Centre in
MeadowbankMeadowbank is a suburb of Edinburgh in Scotland. It is best known for Meadowbank Stadium. The A1 road and East Coast Main Line railway to England run through this way.-External links:*...
.
World Members Conference 2008
Every four years, the ESU holds a World Members Conference, and in 2008 the World Members Conference was hosted by ESU Scotland in
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Speakers at the Conference included
Lord RobertsonGeorge Islay MacNeill Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, is a British Labour Party politician who was the tenth Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, between October 1999 and early January 2004; he succeeded Javier Solana in that position...
, Professor
David CrystalDavid Crystal OBE FLSW FBA is a linguist, academic and author.-Background and career:Crystal was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. He grew up in Holyhead, North Wales, and Liverpool, England where he attended St Mary's College from 1951....
, Sir
Richard DearloveSir Richard Billing Dearlove, KCMG, OBE was head of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 1999 until 6 May 2004.-Career:...
, Professor Bob Worcester, Sir
John BondSir John Reginald Hartnell Bond retired as chairman of HSBC Holdings plc on 26 May 2006, after spending 45 years with the bank. He took up the position of Chairman of Vodafone in July 2006....
, Professor Stanley Wells and Sir
Christopher MeyerSir Christopher John Rome Meyer, KCMG is a former British Ambassador to the United States , former Ambassador to Germany and the former chairman of the Press Complaints Commission...
.
Scholarships
Each year, ESU Scotland runs a number of scholarships:
- The Thyne Scholarship - for young Scots to travel to a country or countries of their choice to study and research their own particular vocation.
- The Page Scholarship - for education professionals. Scholars trave to the USA to study a specific aspect of American education.
- The Lady Duke Scholarship - for young professionals wishing to study their vocation in the USA.
Honorary Presidents and vice presidents
The current Honorary President of ESU Scotland is the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament Alex Fergusson. The current vice presidents are
Jamie McGrigorSir James Angus Rhoderick McGrigor, 6th Baronet is a Conservative politician, and Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Highlands and Islands Region since 1999.-Political career:...
MSP,
Robin HarperRobin Harper FRSSA is a Scottish politician, and was a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothians region. He was co-convener of the Scottish Green Party...
MSP, Mike Pringle MSP,
Marlyn GlenMarlyn Glen is a Scottish Labour politician, and was Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland region from 2003 till she stood down in the election of 2011....
MSP and
Michael MathesonMichael Matheson is the Public Health Minister in the Scottish Government. He has been an SNP Member of the Scottish Parliament since 1999, first representing Central Scotland and, since 2007, the Falkirk West constituency....
MSP.
Branches
ESU Scotland has one active branch, the Edinburgh branch. The branch holds various events throughout the year including regular lunches and an annual speech forum.
In early 2009, a steering committee for a Glasgow Branch was started up and an official launch will take place later in 2009.
Other areas of work
ESU Scotland also runs The Call Service, an annual service at the Call Statue in
Princes Street GardensPrinces Street Gardens is a public park in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and the creation of the New Town. The Nor Loch was a large loch in the centre of the city. It was...
which was erected by Americans of Scottish descent to commemorate Scots who gave their lives during
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
ESU Scotland also runs public speaking and speech writing courses for adults and voluntary organisations.
External links