9 months · 36 live classes · grades 6–9

Your teen has a position. We teach them to defend it.

Not debate club. Not essay prep. A nine-month program where they build arguments, test them against the strongest objection, and speak without notes — one student, one coach, one live class a week.

36
live 1:1 classes
6
showcase performances
5–10 min
practice between classes
Week 1 vs Week 36
recorded, side by side
Looking for grades 2–5? See the Grades 2–5 program
The same six moves, every single week
ThinkOrganizeWriteSpeakListenImprove

Students try something before they are taught it, spot what made the stronger version work, play with the technique, make something real, say it out loud, get one piece of feedback — and immediately try again. That last step is where the growth lives.

Nine months, six missions

Each mission runs six weeks and ends with your teen performing, presenting, or being questioned — so progress is something you watch, not something we report. Pick their grade to see their version.

Grade 7 · by the end of the year
I can build an argument with real evidence and hold it under questioning.

From having a view to defending one — evidence they chose on purpose, structure a listener can follow, and composure when the questions get pointed.

What that looks like at home
Cites where something came from without being asked
Separates what they know from what they think
Concedes a fair point and keeps their case intact
Answers the question asked, not the one they prepared for
MISSION 1Weeks 1–6
Position

What do I actually think — and why that?

In Grade 7: Puts a stake in the ground and defends the choice.

★ Ends with: a stake-in-the-ground talk
MISSION 2Weeks 7–12
Narrative

How do I make an audience feel the stakes?

In Grade 7: Turns a true story into an argument without moralising.

★ Ends with: a true-story argument
MISSION 3Weeks 13–18
The Explainer

How do I make something hard genuinely understandable?

In Grade 7: Delivers a neutral briefing that leaves out their own opinion.

★ Ends with: a neutral briefing
MISSION 4Weeks 19–24
The Case

How do I build an argument that survives its strongest objection?

In Grade 7: Runs a formal debate round, start to finish.

★ Ends with: a formal debate round
MISSION 5Weeks 25–30
In the Room

How do I listen, think, and respond live?

In Grade 7: Faces cross-examination and stays composed.

★ Ends with: cross-examination
MISSION 6Weeks 31–36
Capstone

What can I make that's mine — and defend?

In Grade 7: Presents a researched project and takes live questions.

★ Ends with: the showcase

Grade 9 is not Grade 8 with harder topics — each year the reasoning itself gets more demanding.

What one class looks like

Fifty minutes, and your teen is the one working for almost all of it. No lecture. No worksheet stack. No sitting still while an adult explains.

Rigorous underneath. Real stakes on top.

Your teen says “I had to argue the side I disagree with.” What they practised was steel-manning, evidence selection, concession, rebuttal, and composure under cross-examination.

01
Hook
A challenge, a mystery, or a friendly argument.
02
Try it cold
Attempt the skill before anyone teaches it.
03
Spot the trick
Compare a weak version with a strong one. They notice; the coach names it.
04
Play with it
A fast game — Say It in 7 Words, Prove It!, Steel-Man That.
05
Make something
Write it, plan it, map it, draw it.
06
Say it out loud
The idea has to leave the page.
07
One upgrade
One piece of feedback. Never five.
08
Try again
Right now, while it's fresh. This is the part that works.
09
Name the win
They leave knowing exactly what got better.
Between classes
Communication Quests

Five to ten minutes, once a week. No worksheets, nothing to print.

Send a 45-second explanationInterview a parent with 3 follow-upsImprove one boring sentenceDescribe an object without naming itSummarize something in 20 seconds
Every six weeks
You get to watch

Six showcases across the year. Your teen presents, performs, or hosts — and takes real questions afterwards.

Position TalkStory SlamMasterclassDebate RoundCross-ExaminationCapstone Defence

Why this isn't another English class

Speaking and writing together

What they write, they say. What they say, they write. Each one makes the other clearer.

They choose the topic

Sports, science, school policy, whatever they actually argue about. Three prompts and always “your own idea.”

Feedback they can act on

Keep this. Upgrade that. Try it again — in the same class, not next term.

Craft in context

Structure, precision, and sentence craft are taught inside real arguments, never as a disconnected worksheet.

Built around your teen

Quiet, chatty, perfectionist, or bursting with ideas — 1:1 means the lesson bends to them.

Growth you can see

We record Week 1. In Week 36 you watch both. Nobody has to take our word for it.

Confidence isn't loudness

We don't measure your teen by eye contact, big gestures, or how theatrical they are. Quiet students can be outstanding communicators, and we coach them like it.

clear ideasstaying with a thoughtrecovering after a mistakereally listeninganswering the question askeddisagreeing kindlyadapting to who's listening

See it before you decide. Free demo class.

One live 1:1 session with a coach. Your teen takes a position, defends it against one hard question, and revises it on the spot. You'll know within the hour.

Grades 6–9 · 36 weekly classes · one student, one coach