Speech

At Bancroft, students begin developing their voices long before they join the Speech Team. From PreK on, each experience builds the confidence to think critically, listen thoughtfully, and speak with purpose.

Learning Doesn’t Sit Still. Neither Should Your Voice.

In PreK, a student may step onto the stage for the first time to share a song or poem. By fourth grade, students research changemakers of the American Revolution and bring them to life at the annual Wax Museum. In eighth grade, they represent nations, defend policy positions, and negotiate resolutions at Model United Nations.

Across these experiences, students learn to ask thoughtful questions, listen to different perspectives, and communicate their ideas with confidence. In Upper School, the Speech Team gives students the opportunity to refine those skills through performance and competition. They leave prepared to make their case in a job interview, present an idea to a board, or ask a bank to invest in a startup of their own.

Bancroft School Speech Team Accolades

Since 2002, the Bancroft School Speech team has been a force in the Massachusetts Speech & Debate League. Working with experienced coaches, students refine their public speaking, acting, storytelling, argumentation, and current event skills. They complete with 55 other schools all over the state and across the country – and they win. A lot.

Meet Alysa ’27

Alysa’s Bancroft experience has taken her from the basketball court to Costa Rica and all the way to the national Speech stage. But when spring arrives, she knows exactly where her focus needs to be.

“Spring tends to be the busiest time of year for me in Speech, so I really focus on it then,” she says. That focus has paid off. Alysa qualified for national competition and became the 2025–2026 State Champion in both Declamation and Informative Speaking.

She credits much of that growth to coaches Pam and Chris Sheldon and to the Co-Lab time built into the Bancroft schedule. “They are responsible for any success I’ve had in Speech these past two years,” Alysa says. “The Co-Labs allow me to practice often in order to perform my best at tournaments.”

Speech is only one part of her Bancroft story. Alysa began playing basketball after arriving on campus, embracing the challenge of competing at a higher level, and traveled to Costa Rica with classmates to explore its wildlife, landscapes, and culture.

At Bancroft, Alysa has found room to pursue more than one interest and the confidence to keep raising the bar in each.