'Engineer at heart' - West Sussex woman reaches Miss England grand final after unexpected pageant journey

Katie Everitt-Jones, who has lived in Horsham for the past five years and is moving to Arundel, never imagined she would take part in a beauty pageant.

But after being encouraged to apply by a former competition judge who followed her on Instagram, she decided to step outside her comfort zone.

Katie, 27, began her career aged just 16, undertaking an apprenticeship in the building design industry while studying engineering and construction.

She has since worked in a range of challenging environments, including abandoned prisons, NHS facilities, schools and public-sector buildings.

Now a Chartered IT Professional, Katie said: “I didn't ever think that I was ever going to apply for a pageant.”

“I’m an engineer at heart. I’ve spent much of my working life predominantly alongside men.

“I just thought, you know what, I'll give it a go.”

Katie progressed through the semi-finals at the end of October, securing her place in the grand final, which is due to take place in Leicester on November 17.

She admitted she had little expectation of making it through, particularly given the experience of some of the other contestants.

Katie explained that some contestants had been involved in pageants for years, making her achievement all the more surprising.

She added: “It was so exciting. It was just really thrilling to hear that I got through to the final.”

Katie believes she could be the only contestant representing West Sussex in the competition.

She said representing the county was particularly important to her, having lived in Horsham for five years and developed strong connections with the local community.

Alongside her professional career, Katie has spent more than a decade teaching swimming and volunteers every Saturday at a swimming club supporting people with additional needs, including those with autism and Down’s syndrome.

She said the experience had taught her the importance of adapting her communication and creating a welcoming environment where people can build confidence.

Katie has also established her own swimming business, SUBMERJ, and began developing online swimming lesson plans after the Covid pandemic.

She is passionate about mentoring others and believes success is about more than personal achievement.

She said: “For me, success is not simply about what I achieve personally. It is about the opportunities I can create for others along the way.”

Meanwhile, the Miss England competition has seen Katie take part in a series of challenges, including a bare-faced round, sports round, eco-fashion round and talent round.

She came second in the sports round, something she was particularly pleased with given her passion for fitness.

Katie enjoys boxing and pole fitness, which she has also incorporated into her talent round submission.

She has also been running 5km each week to prepare for a fundraising challenge alongside fellow contestant Alex in support of Miss England's chosen charity.

Her creative side has also come to the fore in the eco-fashion element of the competition, with Katie drawing on sewing skills she learned when she was younger.

Another challenge, Explore the Nation, gave her the opportunity to showcase West Sussex through a video featuring some of her rescue dog's favourite walking spots.

Katie previously fostered dogs while they waited to find permanent homes, but ended up adopting one herself.

She said: “I used to foster dogs and I rescued one of them in the end and he just ended up staying with me.”

Her video followed the dog on some of his favourite walks around West Sussex, combining her love of animals with an opportunity to promote the county.

Katie, who hopes to foster children in the future, said caring for rescue animals had been a way for her to help others before she was ready to take that next step.

Despite her success in the competition so far, Katie admitted that public speaking and appearing in front of a camera have been among her biggest challenges.

However, Katie believes the competition has already helped her develop her confidence.

She added: “This journey has really helped with that. I think I'm going to keep on this journey and then see if I can improve that area.”

Katie is now preparing for face-to-face interviews ahead of the grand final in Leicester, where she hopes to secure a place among the final 12 contestants.

She is also hoping people across West Sussex will get behind her by casting their votes.

Katie said: “I would really love for people to be able to just vote for me if they can get on the app.”

People can support Katie by voting through her Miss England voting page: https://missengland.1voting.com/en/candidate/EVENT_doluY/katie-j-G3Tv