Borough Names its Winner in Public Speaking Competition
Lady Margaret School student to compete in Grand Final
(L to R): 2nd place Tasnim Albrek, Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham Cllr Sharon Holder, 1st place Nida Ayyubi, and 3rd place Sara Bouridane.
January 9, 2026
A Year 10 student from the borough is now just one step away from the Grand Final of the UK’s largest youth public speaking competition, which will take place in the West End in July 2026.
Nida Ayyubi, who represented Lady Margaret School, was named Regional Champion at the Hammersmith & Fulham final of Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge. The event was held at Phoenix Academy on 10 December 2025 and brought together some of the borough’s most talented young speakers.
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 the public speaking charity Speakers Trust and funded by the Jack Petchey Foundation. The initiative is designed to help young people develop confidence, communication skills and the ability to speak out on issues that matter to them.
Nida secured the top spot with a powerful and deeply personal speech titled I Am My Family’s Future, in which she explored themes of identity, responsibility and ambition. Judges praised her clarity, confidence and emotional impact. She was closely followed by runner-up Tasnim Albrek from Hammersmith Academy and third-place finalist Sara Bouridane from Fulham Cross Girls’ School and Language College, both of whom delivered compelling and thought-provoking speeches.
The judging panel included a diverse group of professionals and former competitors: Gareth Dixon, CEO of Young Hammersmith & Fulham; Leora Olajuwon, last year’s regional runner-up; Abbie Kirk, Senior Communications and Engagement Manager at the Westminster Foundation; Maddie Parker, Business Reporter at Bloomberg News; Rebecca Gregory, Senior Practitioner at Hammersmith, Fulham, Ealing and Hounslow Mind; and Solomon Sankoh, a 2021 Grand Finalist and former Speakers Trust Alumni Ambassador.
The Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham, Councillor Sharon Holder, attended the event and praised the finalists for their courage and creativity. She said the standard of communication on display was “thoughtful, brave and thought-provoking,” adding that the partnership between Speakers Trust and the Jack Petchey Foundation reflected a shared ambition to ensure every young person is able to speak and be heard.
Through the Speak Out Challenge, participating students receive professional training to help them express themselves with confidence and clarity. The programme aims to amplify young voices and encourage students to articulate their experiences and perspectives.
As Regional Champion, Nida has received a £100 gift voucher and will now progress to the online semi-finals, where she will compete against other regional winners for a place in the Grand Final. The final will be held at a major West End theatre in July 2026, with the overall champion receiving 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, now in its twentieth year, remains the largest public speaking event of its kind in the world.
Find Articles Like This Useful? 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. |