ABradford teenager is preparing to give the biggest speech of his life – in front of 12,000 people, including Richard Branson and Al Gore.

Mohammed Usman, 17, a sixth form pupil at Grange Technology College, is preparing to travel to Wembley Arena early next month as part of an event organised by charity Free the Children. WE Day has taken part in other countries in recent years, but the event on March 7 will be the first time it has been held in the UK.

Previous events have seen talks by Nobel laureates, heads of state, celebrities, rock bands, actors and pop icons – so Mohammed will be in good company when he takes the stage.

He will be talking about Lifeskills – a programme started by Barclays to help young people get into the world of work, and has been told he has three minutes to address the thousands- strong crowd about his experiences with the scheme.

It is not the first time he has represented the area at such an event – in 2012 he travelled to the United Nations’ headquarters in New York as youth representative of humanitarian charity Mother Helpage UK.

He had helped the charity in a number of projects in Bradford. But it will be the first time he has addressed such a big crowd.

As well as working on various charity projects in Bradford, he has also helped a global water project.

Mohammed, who lives in Great Horton, said: “WE Day takes place in 26 countries and is a youth inspiration event.

“I’ll be talking about the Barclays Lifeskills programme which is an initiative where schools can help pupils develop key skills and after that, you get the opportunity for work experience.

“At the Wembley event Richard Branson and Al Gore will be there, so I might get to meet them backstage.

“I’d had my name put forward and then I went forward for an interview. I’ll be talking for about three minutes and as well as the people there, the event will be broadcast to millions of people. It is something I’ve always dreamed of doing, and having this opportunity at such a young age makes me feel really proud.”

Although he admits he will be slightly nervous speaking in front of such a large crowd, he cannot wait to rub shoulders with the event’s numerous distinguished guests.

Among the speakers and performers at the event will be Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani women’s rights campaigner, Oscar-winning actress and musician Jennifer Hudson, former US Vice President Al Gore, chart-topping singer songwriter Ellie Goulding, award-winning rapper Dizzie Rascal, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and acclaimed actor Clive Owen.

The event has been running in Canada for several years before starting in the US last year and moving to the UK this year.

Free the Children describe WE Day as “the movement of our time” and calls for young people to act as “agents of social change.”

Tickets aren’t available to buy, and everyone in the crowd will have had to earn their ticket by volunteer work.