Jack Petchy Speak Out Challenge

The Jack Petchey award is part of a youth recognition scheme for individuals from 11-25 around Essex and London. The awards recognise personal effort, overcoming challenges, and going above and beyond, not just academic success.

Annually, in school, we hold a competition in November, after a day of oracy workshops in September, to decide on the finalists from Year 10 for the Jack Petchey Speakout Challenge. This assembly event sees Year 10s presenting their speeches to the year group and a panel of judges, they are then evaluated based on style, content and delivery, and the winner is chosen to then compete in the regional finals, which this year is in Phoenix Academy.  The winner of the Regional Final receives £100 and qualifies for the country wide final where they then compete for £250 prize money to be spent on a project of their choice.

This years winner was Martina BB, with Bethelle F as runner up, and our finalist as Jenita BB front row above left with Mr Cooper and Ms Kennedy at the back.

When Mr Cooper was a student he won the Jack Petchy award himself, see photos on the right!  Mr Cooper writes:

The Jack Petchey program changed the course of my schooling. My own Geography teacher, Mr Taylor encouraged me to take part in the initiative. I was quieter at school, and never liked speaking away from the very select group of people I was used to. Jack Petchey's organisation worked with me through a series of workshops and delivered sessions which helped change my confidence and perspective on speaking in front of my peers. The workshops allowed me to organise my thoughts and speak confidently... years later I am the Geography teacher encouraging students to do the very same; to find their own voices. I owe my job as a teacher to Mr Taylor and to the folks at Jack Petchey.