Rashmiya Nithikaran, representing Heathcote School & Science College, was crowned regional champion at the Waltham Forest Regional Final of Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge, hosted at Frederick Bremer School
A Year 10 student from Waltham Forest is now one step closer to the grand final of the UK’s largest youth public speaking competition, set to take place in London’s West End in July.
Rashmiya Nithikaran, representing Heathcote School & Science College, was crowned regional champion at the Waltham Forest Regional Final of Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge, hosted at Frederick Bremer School on 25th November 2025.
Over 35,000 Year 10 students (aged 14–15) from more than 500 state schools across London and Essex take part in the annual programme, delivered by the UK’s leading public speaking charity, Speakers Trust, and funded by the Jack Petchey Foundation.
Rashmiya impressed the judging panel with a confident and compelling speech that stood out among an evening of exceptional talent.
She was closely followed by runner-up Matteo Covaliov, representing South Chingford Foundation School, and third place finalist Eshaal Atif from Eden Girl’s School, both of whom delivered powerful and memorable speeches.
Reflecting on his achievement, Matteo said: “I feel excited… I feel like I got my message across and I deserve this. I felt nervous at first doing the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge and I thought it wasn’t going to be easy — and it wasn’t — but with a lot of hard work I accomplished it.”
Eshaal added: “I thought it was really fun, it made my confidence go up and I’m really happy that I at least placed. I think that everybody was a winner today!”
The event was attended by the mayor of Waltham Forest, councillor Tony Bell and and youth mayor Adwoa Owusu. Cllr Bell praised the finalists, saying: “I was really, really impressed with tonight — it was so uplifting. Finding a voice at this moment in time is really important, especially for young people. So that young people’s voice, to me, that’s the big thing that comes out of this evening.”
Councillor Kizzy Gardiner, cabinet member for children and young people, also attended as a judge and said: “What an amazing evening! The speeches were exceptional and it was a real joy to be part of the journey to success these young people are clearly on. Massive thanks to Speakers Trust and the Jack Petchey Foundation for making this happen.”
As regional champion, Rashmiya receives a £100 gift voucher and progresses to the online semi-finals, where she will compete against other regional winners for a place in the grand final in July. Finalists will compete for the title of Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge Grand Champion, as well as a £5,000 prize package (£2,000 bursary for the student and £3,000 for their school).
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