Meet Grand Finalist, Naila Ali

We are delighted to share that this has been the biggest year ever for Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge. Up to 30,000 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 2022-2023 76% 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 10th July and crown the 2023 “Speak Out” Champion!

In no particular order, meet 2023 Grand Finalist Naila Ali! 

Their speech ‘To Fail Is To Succeed’ earned them and their school, Ashcroft Technology Academy, first place in their Wandsworth Regional Final. Naila teaches us that our failures shouldn’t define us.  

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

My house, everything inside it, Asda’s stockroom for supplies.

What is your favourite saying or quote and why?

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”- Maya Angelou. It’s relatable and makes sense.

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

Creamy tagliatelle with mushrooms. It’s filling and delicious from what I can remember (I’ve only had it once from room service).

 What three top tips on life would you give a Year Seven student? 

Carry the books you need for the day (not every subject), get enough sleep per night, enjoy freedom while it lasts.

 You could have made a speech anything in the world. Why did you speak about this one subject? 

I took inspiration from my sister; although she wasn’t able to follow her initial plan into her profession, all it took was a change in perspective and her failure immediately turned into her drive for success.

And finally, how would you like people to think / act differently from hearing your story?

Our failures shouldn’t define us. I want people to see failure as an incentive for success. We sometimes forget to realise how capable we: what we have accomplished, what we work towards now, and what we can achieve in the future. My wish is for everyone to see that making a mistake isn’t not the end of world, but rather a stepping stone to a more rewarding achievement.

Watch Naila‘s winning speech: