Precious, a student at Woolwich Polytechnic School for Girls, has achieved a remarkable milestone by winning the Greenwich Regional Final of Jack Petchey's Speak Out Challenge. This event, held on February 26, 2025, is part of the largest public speaking programme in England, managed by Speakers Trust and supported by the Jack Petchey Foundation.

The competition saw 16 talented participants from the region, with a total of 967 young people taking part in the challenge. Precious delivered a compelling speech titled "My Version of Black," which emphasised embracing one's unique challenges and identity with bravery, love, affirmation, culture, and kindness. The speech highlighted the transformation of perceived weaknesses into strengths, fostering resilience.

Precious expressed pride in the achievement, stating, "I feel proud that I was able to give a voice to the voiceless. "These three minutes have given me the gift of confidence and belief that I can achieve anything I set my mind to."

Jack Petchey's Speak Out Challenge provides free communication skills training to Year 10 students in every state school in London and Essex, empowering over 30,000 young people each year. The programme aims to amplify young voices by building confidence, developing skills, and creating platforms for sharing stories and ideas. More information about the challenge can be found at jpspeakoutchallenge.com

In an evening full of incredible speakers, Precious was phenomenal and rightly deserves this award. On behalf of everyone at Woolwich Polytechnic School for Girls, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to Precious on this outstanding accomplishment. We are immensely proud.