A teenager who wowed judges in a public speaking competition with his speech about going to extreme lengths to reach his goal has been crowned regional champion.

Abdelraouf Dahmane won first prize in the Waltham Forest Regional Final of Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge in Lammas School, Leyton on Wednesday, November 22.

The 14-year-old who represented Leytonstone School beat 16 other finalists from across the borough and will now be put forward for selection for the nationwide Grand Final.

Abdelraouf amused the crowds with his speech about a trip to IKEA when he was nine which left him with a sprained knee after he jumped over a bed to get a toy he wanted.

The Year 10 student said: “In life I have had many obstacles and didn’t give up and I wanted to show there is more than one way of doing things and getting what you want.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy so if I wanted to prove myself I knew I needed to make myself unique.

“My teachers helped me and gave me constructive criticism.”

More than 530 Year 10 students in Waltham Forest’s secondary schools took part in public speaking and communications training workshop before each school put forward their strongest speaker.

The programme which has trained thousands of youngsters across the UK is funded by Speakers Trust in partnership with the Jack Petchey Foundation.

Abdelraouf’s beaming family looked on as he was presented with his £100 prize by Mayor of Waltham Forest Cllr Yemi Osho.

His father Abdelhak said: “I was about 80 per cent sure he would win.

“I put him into a martial arts class when he was five and he has been doing it ever since and it has built up his confidence."

Although it was Abdelraouf’s speech which impressed the panel of judges most, it was Sabiha Makda’s performance which moved many members of the audience to tears.

The student from Eden Girls’ School spoke in public for the first time about the death of her beloved mother and “best friend” two years ago.

Sabiha, who was awarded second prize on the eve of her 15th birthday, said: “I felt like grief is something not being talked about enough in our society and that’s why I wanted to focus on it.

“I know from experience there are good things that can come out of losing someone close to you – I bonded with my father after my mother’s death.”

Her father Salim added: “She didn’t tell me what she was going to speak about – she knows I am emotional sometimes.

“But when I heard her speak I felt it gave me more power to get away from grief.

“I felt she was so brave to speak about her mother’s death. My wife put a lot of effort into her.

“She gave an important message to people when she told them something good can come out of something bad.”

Third place was awarded to Huriye Ciftcioglu from Rushcroft Foundation School in Chingford who had the audience in stitches with her speech about growing up in a Turkish family in London.

Cllr Yemi Osho, presenting the awards, told all the participants “the sky is your limit”.

She added: “There were some incredible performances which were inspiring and thought-provoking and really make think about what young people are capable of today."

The judging panel at the event included Chantelle Scott of Enabling Enterprise, Emily Hughes of Girlguiding, Jamie Jenkins of London Fire Brigade, Wayne Walton of Forest Radio, Penny Wycherley of Waltham Forest College and Laura O’Callaghan of the Guardian Series.