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05
Nov 2021
Harrogate student wins global competition for young leaders
Harrogate student Thomas Grattoni-May has been named as one of 100 global winners of a programme launched by Eric Schmidt, the billionaire former chief executive of Google, to identify exceptional young people who help others.
More than 50,000 15-17-year-olds entered the Rise Challenge, which aims to find young people with the potential to tackle the planet’s most pressing challenges.
Thomas’ 'big idea' was a global speech and language therapy app for stammerers who have limited access to support.
Thomas, 17, who is in Year 13 at Harrogate independent school Ashville College, has a stammer himself and has been a vocal advocate for the charity Action for Stammering Children. He hopes to bring together charities across the globe to share resources and expertise.
As a winner of the competition, Thomas will receive a lifetime of personalised support. This includes free tuition to any accredited university and a fully funded invitation to an annual three-week summit of winners. This is combined with access to careers advice, mentoring, and access to further funding in a package that could exceed $500,000 in value.
Thomas said:
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Through his application, Thomas submitted 14 video responses to various challenges, and spent more than 50 hours developing his big idea. After being shortlisted in May, the 17-year-old participated in a series of gruelling interviews.
Steven Gauge, chief executive of Action for Stammering Children, of which Thomas is a youth panel member, said:
Ashville College head Rhiannon Wilkinson said it was a "remarkable achievement", adding:
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