Course Overview

Bookings are open for the July school holidays!

Formerly Public Speaking Herons and Experienced Public Speaking

As students progress through late primary and early high school, they’re likely to encounter many challenges – one of which will undoubtedly be public speaking. Each of these opportunities to present will come with a unique set of circumstances, and it’s vital that students are across a range of different speaking styles to meet the trials they’re almost certain to face.

Our Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop seeks to help students not only meet those trials but truly conquer them.

This program changes every holiday and places the focus on a different skill or type of public speaking, and will include the following for 2024:

Summer Holidays – Textual Analysis Speeches;
Autumn Holidays – Engaging Audiences;
Winter Holidays – Mock Trials; and
Spring Holidays – Impromptu Presentations.

Whilst it’s recommended that students give each of these focuses a try, there is no particular need to start with any of them, meaning students are welcome to join at any time!

As with all our programs, we make sure that every classroom environment is nurturing for each individual, and that all the activities are lots of fun for all students. Every focus is an excellent opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of public speaking and build their confidence to take those challenges head-on.

More Information

Learn more about the SSA Credits & Refund policy
Find out more about the type of things students cover in our blog

Over the Winter break, we will be offering a two-day course that introduces students to the legal world through Mock Trials!

The modern courtroom, with its barristers, objections and evidence, is somewhat of an enigma to the average school student – despite the fact it makes up one of the three branches of the Australian Government. Our Mock Trial workshop seeks to dispel the myths perpetuated by the Boston Legal type shows, and show students what it is really like to practice as a lawyer in an Australian courtroom, all the while providing students with the opportunity to role-play the different characters that are necessary to keep the justice system running.

This workshop gives students the opportunity to take on a range of roles in a mock courtroom and teaches them public speaking from a new and novel perspective!

Our Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop is a mixed experienced program.

It is designed for three types of students:

those who are in early high school who have been exposed to public speaking, but don’t have extensive experience;
those in late primary school who have completed programs designed for younger students (such as Speak Out Hummingbirds, Debating Hawks, Public Speaking Penguins and Debating Parrots) who want to learn some fun new public speaking skills; and
those who have already completed the Public Speaking Polar Bears program, and want to try a new focus!

If you’re not sure whether your child would be better suited for our Foundations of Public Speaking or Experienced Public Speaking program, please get in touch and we would be more than happy to discuss it with you!

Check out our video on what to expect at our in-person holiday workshops below!

During the Mock Trial program, students will:

be shown elements of the Australian legal system, with a particular focus on the justice system;
learn what the different roles are in the court room, and how they interact; and
have the opportunity to take on those roles and participate in a mock trial of their own.

Day #1

We kick off the first day with some ice breakers, and then a revision of the concepts covered in the Public Speaking Honeyeaters program. Students are then taken through discussions of the legal system generally, which leads to further conversations about how courtrooms operate. With a more thorough understanding under their belt, students finish up the day by looking into the mock trial they’ll present the following day.

Importantly, the day isn’t just focussed on theory – there are plenty of activities to help break things up, apply their knowledge and keep things fun!

Day #2

The second day places the focus clearly on preparing and presenting a mock trial. Students are given plenty of time to prepare with coach assistance, and have the opportunity to do a complete Mock Trial with their coach presiding. The program then finishes up with a range of activities to help consolidate students’ understanding of the legal system!

Our classes vary in size every holiday depending on how many bookings we receive – however, the maximum size of our Public Speaking Polar Bears class is 9 students with one coach.

If there aren’t any spots left, it’s usually because we’ve hit capacity – please get in touch with us and we’ll see what we can do about either opening an extra class, fitting your child into the existing class, or putting you on a waitlist in case any students pull out!

After each program, students will go home with:

a feedback sheet prepared by their coach (which will be emailed through), outlining what they’ve improved on during the course, and what they could continue to work on in the future;
a certificate recognising that they have completed the Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop;
a completed coursebook that contains all of the theory they’ve covered, as well as any notes that they’ve taken; and
a much better understanding of a specific skill associated with public speaking!

If you’re interested in doing another holiday workshop, we would recommend that students move on to either:

our Public Speaking Polar Bears workshop again – the program changes every holiday, so students will learn something new every time they complete it; or
if your child is looking for something different, either our Debating Hawks (for intermediate debaters) or Practice Debates (for more advanced debaters) would provide a new challenge!

Alternatively, if you’re looking for a weekly term program, we offer:

Public Speaking Penguins, which takes Year 5 – 7 students through various different public speaking skills each term;
Debating Parrots, a mixed experience class that introduces students in Years 5 – 7 to various different elements of debating;
Debating Pandas, an intermediate-level group that takes students in Years 6 – 8 through a range of more advanced debating concepts;
Debating Club, a more advanced class for Year 7 – 10 students to practice their skills each and every week.

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions, or get in touch using our contact form to learn more!