Reviving Rhetoric Across the Curriculum: A Guide for Teachers and School Leaders

A timeless tool for effective communication, civic participation and a means to deciphering the human condition, rhetoric is now enjoying a revival in schools. This book positions rhetoric as an essential component of the curriculum, helping learners to read and think critically, listen actively and speak persuasively. It shows how rhetoric empowers young people with the knowledge and skills to become informed and critical citizens.

Drawing on the authors’ expertise in teaching, curriculum design and academic research, the book considers what it means to teach rhetoric and why there is a rationale to do so with fidelity. It offers guidance for implementing rhetoric across the curriculum. It offers a progression model to help students understand the social structures of language through the subjects they already study with a sensitivity to the subject content.

Essential reading for teachers and school leaders, this pioneering text provides everything needed to revive rhetoric in schools, enabling students to thrive both academically and in the wider world.

The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

Arlene Holmes-Henderson is Professor of Classics Education and Public Policy at Durham University. She is an award-winning qualified schoolteacher, and she taught classical subjects (Latin, Greek and Classical Studies) in secondary schools for more than a decade. Her doctoral thesis examined the role of rhetoric in 21st-century educational policy and practice. By sharing her expertise on ancient rhetoric with policymakers and teachers, she has secured several policy changes in English education which widen access to high-quality rhetoric, oracy and spoken language education. She is the author of 7 books and more than 50 articles. Arlene was awarded an MBE for Services to Education in 2023 and in 2026 was awarded the Classical Association Prize in recognition of her success in widening access to the study of the ancient world.

Kat Howard is Executive School Improvement Lead and Curriculum and Assessment Lead at a Multi Academy Trust, working with schools across the West Midlands region and leading curriculum and assessment across the Trust. She is also founding CEO of LitdriveUK, a charity and subject association dedicated to providing resources and CPD provision for English teachers and tutors. She is the author of the bestseller Stop Talking About Wellbeing: a Pragmatic Approach to Teacher Workload and co-author of another bestseller, Symbiosis: the Curriculum and the Classroom.