"A student was excluded from a mainstream school in Coventry. He did display very challenging behaviour in the community as well. And we use the music studio a lot. So he started writing song lyrics, then he used these to construct his prose. And he's performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company in a short version of Midsummer Night's Dream. He's written the rap and he's also just done his English speaking board level two exam." - Sharon Gray

Sharon Gray has the title of Head of English at the Alternative Provision she teaches at in Warwickshire.

After listening to her passion and her creative ways for engaging with young people who hadn't previously had a sense of connection, Sharon Gray should hold the title of Head of English FOR THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

In this very inspiring episode, Sharon discusses:

• How oracy is with is from the very start of life to the very end.
• How human connection can give hope to young people who didn't feel heard before.
• How creativity with visuals leads to greater communication skills in written work.

And how students from her AP have been working with The Royal Shakespeare Company on a 2026 version of Shakespeare's classics that speak to young people.

Speaking of which you absolutely need to hear an example of that:

Here are students with their re-worked rap for Romeo & Juliet.

Find out more about the work Sharon does at the Coventry Academy and how she has garnered the support of Ed Sheeran - here.

Sharon Gray LinkedIn

If you'd like to be on the show you can find out more at OracyAndBeyond.com

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Hello, I'm Al Booth. I'm the host of Oracy And Beyond.

I'm also a broadcaster with over 25+ years' experience in BBC and commercial radio & TV, a podcast producer, and a live event and conference host.

And before any of that I was a shy and unconfident child who wanted to grow up to be a radio presenter but just didn't have the confidence.

If you'd like to work with me - whether that's to host your conference, moderate a panel, or create a podcast - you can find me in these following places.

Website: AlBooth.co.uk

LinkedIn: Al Booth