A Southend schoolgirl has won the world’s biggest youth speaking competition after overcoming a stutter.

Erin Stoner, who is in Year 10 at Westcliff High School for Girls, wowed a packed audience at the Cambridge Theatre on Monday July 2 at the grand final of Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge, where she was named champion.

She competed against 15 other finalists, who had been whittled down from 19,800 children in 505 schools.

She performed her piece “A Speech for Speech”, which focused on her determination to overcome her stutter and lend her voice to the one in 100 people who suffer with a stutter and are unable to express the difficulties that come with a speech impediment.

She concluded her emotional speech with, “I want to be up here because I know that my 8-year-old self would never believe me if I told her that one day I would be in front of the Cambridge theatre - 1000 people - and on that day that my voice will flow like the river Nile between the seats, one day”.

Credit to Jack Petchey/Youtube

The competition was judged by journalists, high-profile business people, and celebrities known for their first-class communication skills, including Sky News political editor Faisal Islam, Her Majesty’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman, and radio presenter James O’Brien.

As a result of being announced winner, Erin has been awarded £2,000 for herself and £3,000 for her school.

Erin said: “I’m absolutely speechless. This has been the most extraordinary experience. This programme gives so many young people the opportunity to express themselves through public speaking that they simply deserve that no other project gives.

“The skills of public speaking are often over-looked and forgotten so thank you Speaker’s Trust and Jack Petchey Foundation for offering me this amazing opportunity.”

Erin’s teacher, Caroline Durrant, said: “At Westcliff High School for Girls we are incredibly proud of Erin. Her speech,‘A Speech for Speech’, explored Erin’s personal struggle with a stutter that she mastered.

“Her speech will be an inspiration to others who may not yet have found their own voice.”

The Jack Petchey Foundation, based in London and Essex, runs the annual competition in partnership with Speaker’s Trust, a public charity that helps empower people who work for, or receive support from, the not-for-profit sector with the skills and expertise to speak in public.