Meet Grand Finalist, Uma Bassi

We are delighted to share that this has been the biggest year ever for Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge. Up to 35,000 students have been trained in over 500 schools across all of London and Essex.

Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge provides year 10 students in state schools across London and Essex with public speaking and communication training to increase their confidence, sense of agency and drive to make a difference in society.

During the academic year, over 500 schools have received a free one-day public speaking workshops for their students. The student’s confidence in speaking to an audience, without notes, is measured at the beginning and at the end of the day. During 2023-2024, 74% of students have increased their confidence to stand up and talk to a group of people. At the end of the day, every school nominates one student to go on to a Regional or Digital Final, where they compete again other school finalists and their speeches are judged based on content delivery, structure and positive impact by a panel of esteemed judges. After going on to win the semi-finals, our 15 inspirational, articulate, and impressive speakers are now ready to present their speech to you!

We will celebrate the achievements of these awe-inspiring young people in the heart of London’s West End at Cambridge Theatre on Monday 8th July and crown the 2024 Speak Out Champion!

In no particular order, meet 2024 Grand Finalist Uma Bassi! 

Their speech ‘Where are you really from?’ earned them and their school, Waldegrave School, first place in the Richmond Regional Final. 

We asked Uma, what three items or people would you choose to take to a desert island and why? 

1. My guitar because without I would definitely be super bored.

2. My sister because she’d miss me too much and i can’t let her get all the attention being an only child without me at home (plus she’s good company).

3. My bed because to be honest, I’ll be tired and i just want a good night’s sleep.

What is your favourite saying or quote?

Miles Davis said “If you’re not making a mistake, it’s a mistake” and i think it really sums up how mistakes are important in learning and maturing.

If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

It sounds bland but 100% bread. There’s so many types of bread and there’s no way to get sick of it because for me there’s never too much.

What three tips would you give to a Year 7 student? 

1. Don’t be afraid to ask questions in class just because you’re worried about seeming nerdy, everyone else is new to secondary school too and most of the time it’s not just you that wants to know the answer anyways.

2. Please, please, please don’t walk down the corridor with your friends with all your arms linked, it blocks the corridor up so much.

3. Overall, just enjoy year 7, now is the time to make friends and have a good time because there’s so little pressure. Some of the friendships you make last a really long time!

Why did you choose to speak about this subject? 

My speech is really personal to me since its based off my own experiences. Both of my parents were born in England, but my dad is ethnically brown and my mum is ethnically white. Growing up as something “in-between” can be really difficult, and I don’t think it’s really talked about enough at the moment. With a growing mixed race population in the UK, I think it’s important to be talking about it so that more mixed race kids can grown up feeling seen and knowing they aren’t alone in their experiences.

Outside of delivering the speech, how do you think this experience can be useful now or in the future? 

Giving speeches through the Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge has made me a lot more confident socially. I really want to pursue my passion in music in some way in the future, and being comfortable in front of a crowd is a really important skill for musicians. I think that this experience had been really helpful for that. Plus, it’s definitely a good thing to be able to put on applications in the future.

Best of luck Uma and see you at the Grand Final on July 8th!