On Tuesday 1 May, Chief Constable Colin Port recognised the achievements of some of the most exceptional young people in Avon and Somerset at the annual Children and Young Peoples' Awards.

Superintendent Julian Moss who was on the board that selected this year's winners said; "Young people today often get a bad press both in the media and in their local communities, and often undeservedly so. I'm delighted that our Children and Young Peoples' Awards have enabled us to demonstrate some of the amazing things that young people do every day across Avon and Somerset.

"The seven award winners this year represented a real variety of achievements. These included a young person who showed tremendous bravery in saving the life of her sister, two who turned their lives around and groups of young people who came together to raise awareness of important issues or raise huge amounts of money for good causes."

The police received 55 nominations for individuals and groups of young people who had all achieved something special over the past twelve months. Of these the top seven were selected and recognised for their efforts at an awards ceremony at Police Headquarters.

The winners, were all presented an award by Chief Constable Colin Port on the day. These were:

• Ramona Gibbs- A 7-year-old girl from Knowle who saved her little sister's life by pushing her out of the way of a moving car sustaining significant injuries herself in the process
• Healthy Relationships Campaign - 4 students from Oasis Academy John Williams who worked together to raise awareness of Domestic Violence amongst young people with a 'healthy relationships week campaign' at their school. The girls managed to secure £1k of funding to help them run the campaign
• Katrina Doyle– a 13-year-old girl from Somerset who has raised £2,500 for cancer charity Clic after overcoming childhood Leukaemia herself
• Levi Hodge - a 15-year-old from Knowle West who spent the last year trying to make his community a better place to be. The police officer who nominated him said he does so much it's impossible to get it all in one submission! His hard work includes setting up a bike project for young people in the area, leading a youth work session, a member of a community planning board,
• SK8PIPEDREAM– A group of 7 – 14 year olds from Milborne Port who raised an incredible £23,500 for community projects and paid to have the local skate park updated for young people living in the area
• Blue James was excluded from school in 2011 but in the space of a year has managed to turn his life around and now volunteers a huge number of hours every week to make his community a better place to be. He has volunteered over 500 hours of his own time offering drop in services for young people living in Lawrence Weston for a project called 'The Juicy Blitz – youth inclusion programme'.
• Withywood and Hartcliffe youth action group– A group of 12 people from Withywood who come together to problem solve issues in their local community taking part in community clean-ups, fundraising for worthy causes and dealing with issues such as bullying and improving relations between young people and adults living in the community

Superintendent Julian Moss who was on the board that selected this year's winners said: "As a judge I was truly overwhelmed by the courage, bravery, and dedication presented in the applications. It was truly uplifting and has truly boosted my confidence in our future."

Children and Young People Awards 2012 - citations

Levi Hodge – aged 15

Levi is 15 years old and lives in Knowle West.

Over the past year Levi has worked very hard to turn his life around. As well as Levi making his own life better, he works so hard to make things better for other local young people. He has thrown himself into numerous projects which include:

• Member of the Board of Directors for Youth Moves where he attends monthly meetings with decision makers. He is the only young person to have achieved this and makes sure the needs of young people are heard and acted on.
• Member of a community planning board, attending meetings about local planning with the council and other agencies and community groups. He represents the views of young people and is involved in the planning and redevelopment of the area and local green spaces.
• Set a bike project. Raising funding to buy tools and securing a lock up unit where local young people can bring their bikes along to fix them. He's also obtained eight bikes from the police, which young people can work on, fix and keep if they do not have a bike but need one to get to and from school.
• Leads an evening youth work session and does all the planning, briefing and in charge of recruiting and training the volunteers, both other young people and adults, who work on the project.
• His school attendance is now almost 100% and he's been attending extra study at the weekends and in the school holidays. He's now getting good grades, and has secured a place at college and for 6th form
• He has raised money and set up a group where young people can apply for funding to help them achieve.

Levi has become a very positive role model for his peers, and is now well known in the area for the good he does. He's working on various community projects five evenings a week. He comes into the office to do his planning after school and works on projects in the evenings as well as keeping on top of his school work. He is an inspiration not only to young people but to adults and professionals.

Blue James – aged 16

Blue is a 16-year-old living in Lawrence Weston Bristol. He has been a participant at Juicy Blitz Youth Project for 3 to 4 years. Initially Blues involvement in the project was as a participant within the project, taking part in various activities.

Due to behavioural problems Blue was put on early study leave from school in January 2011 (during his last year of school). After this Blue expressed an interest in undertaking a 'Learn to Work' placement at Juicy Blitz Youth project, initially one day a week for three months.

After a couple of months of being on placement Blue increased his 'Learn to Work Placement to 2 days per week, and despite leaving school in June 2011 Blue continued to volunteer at the project for more than a year.

• Between Feb 2011 and March 2012 Blue volunteered more than 500 hours of his time as a 'young leader' at Juicy Blitz Youth project. Planning and delivering activities for other young people during the twice weekly drop in sessions and assisting staff during project work sessions with young people (aged 11-19 years),
• Blue has also achieved a number of accredited awards including a 60hr ASDAN Experience of Work Award.

Blue was also invited to become a member of the North 1 Youth in April 2011 in recognition of his commitment as a young leader;

• This has involved working with members of the youth forum to identify issues for young people locally and communicate these issues to representatives from the council, police and other agencies
• Blue, and another young person also secured a grant for £2,500 from Starbucks Youth Action in July 2011 to renovate a space for other young so that young people could benefit from youth provision in the same way as he had.

Since Blue started as a young volunteer his behaviour at the project has been EXEMPLARY and he has worked to develop positive relationships with staff and young people attending the project, improve and manage his own behaviour, positively resolve conflict, show a mature level of understanding towards others, and developed into a positive role model to other young people and become an active citizen in his local community. Blue is a pleasure to have around, he's very caring, conscentious, and has a great sense of humour.

Having received many negative messages which have been reenforced throughout his schooling and life I believe Blue deserves recognition for his efforts as a young leader and the positive contribution he has made to the local community.

Blue's example has also led to other young people wanting to volunteer at the project.

SK8PIPEDREAM

SK8PIPEDREAM are from Milborne Port, a rural area with a few villages near by. The group's aims are to raise money for local projects which will benefit the whole community.

SK8PIPEDREAM have been established since January 2010 and are set up of all youngsters eager to raise funds for their community. The members of the group range in age from 14 to 7 years. Each young person has a role in this club from Chair to Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

The group managed to raise £23,500 in their first year, and this was to improve the existing Skate Park in the village. They raised the money from organising Coffee Mornings, Garden Parties, Easter Egg Hunts, Christmas Craft & Food Markets, Quiz Nights and many more events. Some of these events were attended by over 1000 people. They managed to gain the support of fashion designer Jasper Conran and were allowed to use his property for some Garden Parties they ran.

They carried out various community consultations to make sure that the money was spent on the right equipment that had been requested by the community through the consultations.

The events were meticuously organised to ensure they impressed Jasper Conran and the friends he invited from London to share the event.

These events were a huge success and the group have the full support of the village as they have proved themselves time and time again.

They work tirelessly organising local fund raising events, and they never moan about the work load. They are always very energetic and enthusiastic with some really great ideas on different ways to raise the funds.

The youngsters have decided not to stop there and are now fund raising for a new project, a community area in the village. This is a huge project that will cost about £85,000. They want to put in disabled access to the park area so everyone can enjoy it and install new play equipment for all ages to enjoy including a zip wire a sensory garden, path and picnic areas with a shelter. This will be a great space for families to come and spend quality time together while enjoying healthy life style activities.

This group has gone from strength to strength and and have grown as a group and have more confidence and have learnt lots of life skills they can take forward into the future. This group are always thinking of others, and at the Skate Park they are happy to show and help others new skills and jumps, whilst keeping an eye on their achievements, detering and challenging others from spoiling it for everyone.

Oasis Academy John Williams – Healthy Relationships Campaign

As part of End Violence Against Women week in Novmeber 2011 Year 13 students from Oasis Academy John Williams put together a focused week on Healthy Relationships. They were responding to research looking into local perceptions into Domestic violence which found that Women in the local area were less likely to report incidents of Domestic abuse compared to other areas of Bristol and that young women tended to blame the victim.

Chloe a year 13 student had experienced a negative relationship and wanted to help advise others to stop them suffering in silence. Chloe with her best friend Jessica set about applying for a grant of £1000.

The four students involved in the healthy relationship event made a significant contribution to the whole week and without their help it would not have been the success it was.

Some of the students designed a logo and this was used on 140 T-Shirts which were worn by all staff and some students over the Healthy relationship week. The aim of the T shirts was to have a joined up message from all staff at the Academy to show their support for this cause and to highlight to students the importance of messages relating to Domestic Abuse.

All students at the Academy also received an input on what is a healthy relationship, and it was hoped that this would lead to less instances of domestic abuse for the future and to look to change perceptions locally. The students stated it would not be a quick fix but wanted this issue to be on the agenda over the coming years. From the early signs it seems the younger students in the Academy have begun to report more incidents of issues they experience, not all related domestic violence, but it is seen this week has helped give them confidence to do so.

The Healthy Relationship week was also supported by Sir Patrick Stewart and made headlines in the local press. Sir Patrick came to the Academy during this week and spoke to a group of students around this issue of Domestic abuse.

Ramona GIBB

7-year-old Ramona lives with her mum and dad and four brothers and sisters in Knowle.

On 16 July 2011 Ramona (who was 6 at the time) and her little sister Trixie (who was three) were playing on their scooters on the pavement outside their house. An elderly driver careered up onto the pavement when her foot slipped off the brake and onto the accelerator sending her forward at speed up and onto the pavement hitting the little girls. Ramona was pinned between the drivers' vehicle and a stationary Land Rover before being pulled out by a neighbour her injuries were life threatening.

It quickly became apparent that Ramona had pushed her sister Trixie out of the way of the oncoming car, resulting in Trixie just receiving a minor bump to the head. Had Ramona not acted so quickly the outcome may have been very different for Trixie.

Ramona was rushed to the Children's Hospital in Bristol where she had many tests, X rays and operations. The initial assessment of her injuries showed that she had a lacerated liver, bruised lung, bruised pelvis, broken rib, broken leg and severely damaged knee, Ramona also had internal bleeding.

Ramona remained in hospital for 16 days and has had to date 5 operations including plastic surgery on her knee. She had to wear a leg brace for weeks which impeded her movement, however Ramona being an independent and determined girl was soon trying to walk and managed to get around by herself whilst wearing the brace.

Ramona and her family have been told that she is likely to be scared for life as a result of her knee injury but they and the consultants are hopeful that other than that she'll make full recovery which is close to a miracle after her initial assessment.

Ramona is a very strong willed little girl and is back at school full time, playing Tennis at ther local club and swimming. A few days after her accident she told her consultant that her aim was to get back on her trampoline which she is very pleased to have done.

Withywood Hartcliffe Youth Action Group

The group consists of 12 young people from Hartcliffe and Withywood areas of Bristol. The group was originally formed three years ago when a group of young people who had participated in a citizenship course delivered by the youth locality team ,to encourage young people to gain the skills and confidence to attend community meetings to ensure young peoples views were taken into account at local decision making forums.

The group has evolved over the last two years to have a much broader remit, the group have attended various training opportunities within the area from play training to sexual health workshops. Whyag is a youth forum that represents the views of local young people within their area and wider Bristol.

The group are supported by a youth worker but they make all the decisions and prioritise the issues they get involved with and the improvements they would like to see made across the area and to the services available to them.

Young people are too often perceived to be "the problem" Whyag aims to demonstrate that young people can be the solvers of the problem and young people are able to act responsibly and improve their communities when given the opportunity.

the group have over the last few years been involved in a huge range of activities that have resulted in a positive contribution to their communities. The group have been involved in community clean up campaigns, raising funds through a variety of means including sponsored events, shop collections, holding boot fairs and christmas fayres these funds have been used to improve activities and opportunities for young people in the area. They have also supported fundraising activities for national charities such as Troop aid ,Help the Aged and Poppy day appeals .

The whole group also give up hours of their time to volunteer within their community providing activities and events for other young people. They helped to deliver residential trips for young people with disabilities and additional needs which provided this group of young people with the chance to develop their lifeskills and gain a sense of independence while giving parents and carers a well deserved rest

The group have sat on interview panels with local agencies and have been instrumental in ensuring that local services are accessible to young people through presentations to local community groups and organisations and giving advice to professionals on the ways to effectively communicate with young people.

The group have designed workshops on Bullying and awareness of hate crime and have delivered these through youth centres to groups of young people.

Withywood and Hartcliffe Youth Action Group are doing their bit to improve their community and the perception adults have of teenagers, by taking the actions they have locally they are not only increasing the opportunities for young people they are positive role models for their peer group and younger children.

These young people deserve this award because of the effort and energy they put into every task they attempt. They are not the most academic young people or the high achievers , they are not young people who have themselves had loads of opportunities which makes it all the more special that they can willingly give up their time to improve the lives of others.

The group give up their time willingly ,they have never let any groups down they are totally reliable .always up beat and eager to learn. they have never sought monetary reward for their efforts and encourage other youngsters to be active citizens.

It would be fantastic if they could be recognised through this award and I'm sure it would mean so much to them all personally to be able to put this as an achievement on their personal development files/cvs .

Katrina Doyle – aged 13

Katrina Doyle is a 13 year old, year 8 pupil at King Alfred's school in Burnham-on-Sea. She is the youngest daughter of three in her family.

At the age of 7, Katrina was diagnosed with Leukaemia, a very aggressive and debilitating form of the disease, which required prolonged and aggressive treatment over a period of a year. Some of the treatments required her to undergo general anaesthetics as well as radio and chemotherapy. These treatments resulted in the total loss of her hair, something of a significant trauma for a person of her young age.

Although Katrina is still only 13 years old her attitude and maturity belies her young age. From the age of 9 (shortly after her treatment ended) she was demonstrating her resolve to make the most of her abilities and life itself. Her understanding of her illness and the severity of the prognosis did not prevent her self initiated efforts in raising awareness of the work of the cancer charity CLIC Sergeant. She was resolute in her determination to ensure that others in her position received support through the charity and as soon as her hair had grown back, she set about raising funds.

She set up a web site and sought sponsorship from friends, her school mates and the wider community. She dyed her hair pink, highlighting the work of the charity in supporting young people with cancer. She eventually raised over £2,500. Throughout this period, she clearly suffered from chronic fatigue, however, never allowed this to prevent her continuing with her efforts. Her then head teacher described her as being "a shining example of compassion, rarely seen in one so young".

Fortunately Katrina has now been in remission from the cancer for four years. Her attitude towards her illness has meant that she treats everything with a rational perspective and has assisted, rather than being a hindrance to her in developing into what has been described by other community members as "a well balanced, determined and articulate young woman who has the ability to empathise with anyone in need".

Deserving of the award as a result of sustained resolution to overcome setbacks in her young life, by tackling the trials of a debilitating disease that she has fortunately, to date overcome. Her ability to live with the side effects of the weakening treatment she underwent without complaint is remarkable.