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25th September 2025
Posted by Aston Avery
146 incredible young people from schools and youth clubs from Basildon received their prestigious Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement Awards presented at two live events this week held at the Towngate Theatre.
The live events celebrated Achievement Award winners aged 11-25 for their contributions to their school, college or youth clubs, where winners received medallions and framed certificates from the Foundation along with a £300 grant for them to spend to benefit their unit.
In addition, 15 adults were awarded Leader Awards for demonstrating outstanding ability to motivate young people. They each received a medallion and a framed certificate.
The Jack Petchey Foundation has invested almost £1.2m in Basildon since funding started.
Councillor Allan Davies, The Mayor of Basildon, who handed out awards on Tuesday night, said:
“I’m delighted to be part of the Jack Petchey award. Every year I am stunned by the talent, dedication and enthusiasm of our amazing young people in the borough. Well done to our future generation!”
David Sinnott, the Head of Compliance at C2C Railway, who handed out awards on Wednesday evening, said:
“It was a privilege to represent C2C and be in attendance tonight to witness so many worthy award recipients. I found the evening very moving.”
Councillor Gill Palmer, the Deputy Mayor for Basildon, who handed out awards on Wednesday evening, said:
“What a truly humbling experience! I feel so honoured to have been allowed to take post with these wonderful, inspirational young people. Amazing!”
Kuukua Aidoo, Deputy Youth Mayor for Basildon Youth Council, who handed out awards on Wednesday evening, said:
“Tonight was truly inspiring and eye-opening to see all the hard work of students, young people and leaders”.
Here are a few inspiring stories from our Achievement Award Winners:
George, 15, attends De La Salle RC School.
George won the Jack Petchey Achievement Award after being hailed a ‘little hero’ when he noticed a woman near railings on a bridge in Basildon. George ran to her aid and managed to grab hold of the woman and move her away from the edge. George then calmly spoke to the woman for around 15 minutes, defusing the situation and walking her away from the bridge. Although distressed the Lady was safe.
George decided to spend his £300 Jack Petchey Achievement Award Grant towards a trip for his classmates to Thorpe Park.
Orla, 12, attends Woodlands School.
Orla won the Jack Petchey Achievement Award for her being an exceptional role model who puts 100% effort into all aspects of her school life. She has represented the school in the basketball team, helping them to win an Essex Cup. She has also helped lead the football team to an Essex and National Cup final as well as being selected to represent Essex for Cross Country. Alongside this, she plays football for Arsenal and manages to stay on top of all her schoolwork and homework. She was described as an outstanding student who always strives to do her best whilst also helping others around her.
Orla decided to spend her £300 Jack Petchey Achievement Award Grant on a revision guides for her school.
Ella, 15, attends Beauchamps High School.
Ella won the Jack Petchey Achievement Award for being a dedicated amateur boxer, having had 10 fights with only 1 loss that was to the European number 2. Ella is part of the England Boxing Performance Pathway, which means that she needs to train as part of the England Squad on a regular basis. Ella continues to train hard at her club, Leo’s Gym in Hertfordshire, and also trains with her brother’s pro coach in Romford. She is the reigning Golden Girl Champion for her age and weight, which is a very big international box cup attracting circa 400 boxers and takes place in Sweden.
Ella decided to spend her £300 Jack Petchey Achievement Award Grant on her school’s PE department and netball posts.
Jessica, 15, attends Mayflower High School.
Jessica won the Jack Petchey Environmental Award for showing exceptional initiative and environmental responsibility during her Duke of Edinburgh Bronze expedition. Despite the physical demands of the journey, she went above and beyond by collecting litter along the route, returning to camp with a full bin bag of rubbish—demonstrating her commitment to making a positive impact
Jessica decided to spend her £300 Jack Petchey Achievement Award Grant on footballs for students to use at break time, on her textiles club, and on new filaments for a projector that is used in technology with her class.
Stanley, 18, attends Billericay School.
Stanley won the Jack Petchey Achievement Award for showing exceptional kindness and quick thinking when he helped a peer who had a serious bike accident during the school holidays. He used first aid skills learned through the Duke of Edinburgh programme, and his actions were so effective that the injured boy’s mother said Stanley likely saved her son’s life. His care and calm response in a challenging situation earned him praise from both school staff and the boy’s family.
Stanley decided to spend his £300 Jack Petchey Achievement Award Grant on a yearly subscription of Digital Theatre Plus to give students access to a range of theatrical performances.
Since Sir Jack Petchey CBE set up the Foundation in 1999 to inspire, motive and celebrate the achievements of young people, over £180m has been invested in our programmes across London and Essex. This investment has directly benefitted over 1.3 million young people and thousands more have benefitted indirectly from our work.
We have awarded over 255,000 Jack Petchey Achievement Awards to recognise young people’s achievements and over 2.5m people have attended a Jack Petchey Foundation event to celebrate young people.
As Sir Jack always said:
“I am passionate about our awards scheme which enables young people to be recognised, valued and rewarded for their achievements and positive contributions to society.”
The Foundation is committed to continuing Sir Jack’s legacy of developing young people’s confidence, skills and voice to realise their full potential. To support this mission, they have launched the ‘Your Voice, Your Future: The Jack Petchey Youth Survey’.
They want as many young people as possible aged 11-25 from London and Essex to tell them how confident they are in using their voice to share their views and opinions.
With the data collected they will raise awareness of young people’s experiences, and they will present the findings to key decision makers in governments and local councils to illustrate the importance of listening to young people’s voices.
Those completing the survey could win £200 themselves, plus £500 for their school or youth group. If not part of a school, college or youth group but get 12 or more people to complete the survey, the Foundation will provide the grant to an organisation of their choosing. The deadline for entries is 11:59pm on Sunday 2nd November 2025.