Ellen Wilkinson Student Wins Speak Out Challenge
Margot Griffiths named regional champion in public speaking event
(L to R): Mrs Maria Kelly, Mayoress of Ealing, 1st place Margot Griffiths, 2nd place Emilia Sibley, 3rd place Yara El-Yassine and Mayor of Ealing Councillor Anthony Kelly
February 18, 2026
A Year 10 student from Ealing is one step closer to the Grand Final of the UK’s largest youth public speaking competition after winning the regional round of Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge. Margot Griffiths, representing The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls, was named Regional Champion at the Ealing Regional Final, held at Featherstone High School last month.
More than 35,000 Year 10 students from over 500 state schools across London and Essex take part in the annual programme, which is delivered by Speakers Trust and funded by the Jack Petchey Foundation. The competition aims to help young people develop the confidence and skills to speak publicly about issues that matter to them.
Margot impressed judges with a confident and compelling speech delivered with clarity and conviction. Reflecting on her win, she said she was proud of her achievement and thanked her school and family for their support. She was followed closely by Runner-Up Emilia Sibley from Ada Lovelace Church of England High School, with fellow Ada Lovelace student Yara El‑Yassine taking third place. Emilia described the experience as “whimsical” and thanked her teachers after the event.
The Mayor of Ealing, Councillor Anthony Kelly, attended the final and praised the young speakers for challenging negative stereotypes about young people. He told the audience that while public debate often focuses on claims that education is failing or that young people lack discipline, the finalists demonstrated energy, focus and leadership. He added that all participants should feel proud of developing skills that would help them advocate for themselves and others in the future.
The judging panel brought together a wide range of professionals and community figures, including representatives from the charity sector, business, academia and the arts, as well as previous Speak Out Challenge finalists.
As Regional Champion, Margot receives a £100 gift voucher and now progresses to the online semi-finals, where she will compete against other regional winners for a place in the Grand Final in London’s West End in July 2026. The overall winner will receive a £5,000 prize package, including a £2,000 bursary for the student and £3,000 for their school.
Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge is now in its twentieth year and remains the largest public speaking event of its kind in the world, with more than 35,000 students taking part annually and over £12,000 in prizes awarded each year.
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |