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Finalists

Young Achiever

Junior Frood

Junior Frood

All through my childhood I was bullied for my love of dancing. People assumed that because I was a boy who loved to dance that I must be ‘gay’. This wasn’t the case. I was bullied and beaten up daily by kids much older than me. The bullying got that bad that I had to move house and school. No matter how bad the bullying got I refused to let it stop me from my love of dancing. Instead, I used my dancing to help others by raising money for local and National charities. Starting from age 8 up to the present day I have so far raised over £300,000 for charity.
Guy Tomlinson

Guy Tomlinson

Guy and Jack were doing their Business Studies A levels when Covid hit. It was hard for the first few months stuck at home but as the lockdown began to ease, they would meet and sit outside on a couple of old beer barrels outside at Jacks.
Jack Talbot

Jack Talbot

Jack’s dad had fashioned a cushion to make it more comfortable to sit and they began talking… They began with flyers to the local pubs which got a bit of interest but when they started to use social media to reach their audience things began to take off.
Amire Ben Salmi

Amire Ben Salmi

Amire Ben Salmi aka Mr Because I AM Intelligent is an 8-year-old award-winning author of a book series called: Because I AM Intelligent: Because I AM Intelligent – 365 Affirmations to Brighten Up Your Day, Because I AM Intelligent – Easy As P.I.E Affirmations and Because I AM Intelligent – I Become What I Affirm.
Will Sears

Will Sears

During our holiday in France Will’s life changed forever. He collapsed, had a massive seizure, and suffered a haemorrhagic stroke. After a week on ITU he was repatriated to Great Ormond St. Will was diagnosed with Cavernous Malformations (Cavernoma) in his brain. These were unstable and there was a chance of a further bleed. Will required surgery to remove them.After a further stay at Great Ormond St the surgeons made the decision to postpone Will’s surgery as the malformations were nestled in a very tricky part of his brain and required intensive investigation. Will was released and spent the next few months recovering. His strapline is ‘Ability not Disability’ and he has raised thousands of pounds for charity and is quite the ambassador. In June will underwent 12hrs of intensive brain surgery and whilst recovering, continues to challenge the norm.

Young Innovator

Priya Gill

Priya Gill

My name is Priya Gill, and I am currently the Deputy Youth Mayor of the City of Derby. I’ve held this position since May 2020, and it has been the most incredible experience. My duties have included: representing young people at council meetings, understanding their views on decisions to be made about the city, but most importantly, ensuring they feel able to always reach out to us.
Alyssia Reddy

Alyssia Reddy

Alyssia, nearly 16, has been passionate about books since an early age. Throughout her school years she has been a librarian and is now a senior prefect. She is the 1st generation of British- Mauritian born in England and speaks French and Creole. The idea of writing a book emerged during the 1st Covid lockdown last year and her book ‘The Sugar Cane Boy ‘ was the fruit of this lockdown.
Tray Sean

Tray Sean

16yr old Tray-Sean is a TEDx Speaker, an Amazon #1 Best Seller & Award-Winning Author, Stock & Shares Trader, Property Mentor & Investor, Award winning Public Speaker (Virgin, The Beat You Expo 15,000 attendees) and Child Advocate. Tray-Sean participated in Channel 4 Child Genius 2017 and went on to be recognized as one of the top 20 smartest children in the UK. Tray-Sean went on to be 1 out of 34 boys to be invited to sit papers at the prestigious Eton College 2017.

Outstanding Contribution to Children

Ben Green

Ben Green

Ben is a skilled child practitioner, fitness professional, author and has over 15 years’ experience working in education and the health, fitness & wellbeing industry. My Mission is to INSPIRE & MOTIVATE OUT FUTURE GENERATIONS BY ACTIV8TING THEIR INNER GREATNESS.
Danielle Brown

Danielle Brown

Danielle’s drive to put something back stem from her own experiences in childhood and the barriers she faced. Becoming disabled at the age of eleven was tough but starting archery on her 15th birthday set her on a new trajectory. She won gold in Beijing 2008 and retained her title on home soil in London 2012 and became the first disabled person to represent – and win gold – for England as an able-bodied athlete at the Commonwealth Games.
Esha Johnson

Esha Johnson

Esha Johnson is an accredited Counsellor (BACP), Parent Coach, Play Specialist, Author and Founder of Luminous Counselling. Esha has spent her career dedicated to keeping children safe. She has over 25 years of experience in working with children, young people, and families, including 14 years as a Senior Sexual Abuse Counsellor for Barnardo’s.
Natalie Johnson

Natalie Johnson

Being nominated for an Outstanding Contribution to Children Award is an honour. The nomination came as a surprise as the name of my business reflects how I feel about children, I like to ensure that ‘Kidz Come First’. The work I have carried out throughout the years has always in the very first instance been for them. I have been working with children in nurseries, schools, after school clubs and holiday playschemes for over 17 years. I also have a degree in Early Years and Education studies, and I am also a qualified Mentor and Early Years Practitioner.

Outstanding Contribution to Education

Julie Read

Julie Read

A gap between what was happening in school and then what was expected at the more competitive Universities/Art Colleges. The applications and portfolios were often just not good enough to cut it at Uni-level, despite the potential the candidates often had. By combining my first-hand experience as a student AND my “insider” knowledge of being an assessor… I could help students understand what’s really required to get into the top art colleges despite the competition. Because there’s a lot to the creative and design process that is often not made explicit.
Dr. Dale Okorodudu

Dr. Dale Okorodudu

A.K.A. Dr. Dale, is an award-winning physician, speaker, and best-selling author. His mission is to help others live up to their God-given potential. He is best known as the founder of Diverse Medicine and Black Men in White Coats. As a sought-after public speaker, Dr. Dale delivers transformative experiences to audiences and moves them to real action. His influence and impact on society have been recognized by prominent media outlets such as NPR and NBC’s TODAY Show.
Jas Rohel

Jas Rohel

Founder and CEO of the Education Awards, an annual event recognising the unsung heroes in education by celebrating both the people and establishments making incredible contributions to the sector. She also runs the Education Expo bringing Business and Education together. Recently she has launched Education Rewards Card, a card for people who work in Education and are able to get discounts from the reward partners exclusively for people who work within the Education sector.
Paul McNeill

Paul McNeill

Paul is dyslexic and is a father to two dyslexic children. He struggled at school and didn’t have a recognition of dyslexia until later in life. He is passionate about improving educational opportunities and experiences for neurodiverse children within our education system and has dedicated much of his time to delivering workshops, talks and speeches on the matter. He is a proud ambassador for Dyslexia Scotland and earlier this year alongside his wife Julie and fellow dyslexic Rossie Stone he wrote ‘Mission Dyslexia’ for children aged 7-12 years.

Inspirational Person of the Year

Ian Stephenson

Ian Stephenson

Ian is the proud owner and operator of McDonald’s restaurants in 11 locations employing c1000 people across South London. Ian comes from a Caribbean background; his parents are from Jamaica and came to the UK as part of the Windrush generation. He lost his father to cancer at a young age, so his mother worked multiple jobs while raising three children. She instilled a strong work ethic in him, and he felt a sense of responsibility from a young age.
Ndjodi Ndeunyema

Ndjodi Ndeunyema

Ndjodi hails from Namibia and considers himself as an agent of social justice in society. Ndjodi has a strong academic background in law having completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Law at the University of Oxford at the age of 30, where he also obtained a Master of Philosophy in Law (by Research), the Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL), and Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice, after being awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. His two undergraduate law degrees are from the University of Namibia. From 2017 to 2021, he was also Research Director at the Oxford Human Rights Hub and a law journal editor.
Darren Galvin

Darren Galvin

Darren has been through his fair share of troubles, it was the loss of his home, family, and everything he treasured that gave him the kick to create Expert Apps and follow his dream, but naturally building a tech business of this magnitude takes resilience as there is always new challenges. Darren Galvin certainly likes to challenge himself, so much so he and his company are building a machine that builds apps! It’s his intention to make it possible for anyone to have their own branded app, in Apple & Google without the heavy price tags!
Stephanie Taylor

Stephanie Taylor

Stephanie Taylor was a teenage single mum on benefits struggling to find a safe and affordable home for herself and her young son. After struggling financially for decades, a life-changing moment changed her path. She’s now a passionate advocate that ethical property investment is open to everyone. It’s not just for people with a family background in investment or the ‘right’ connections. She’s tearing up the old school property rule book to inspire more people that Yes You Can!
Raj Holness

Raj Holness

Raj is a CEO, TEDx speaker, multi-award winner, author, survivor, ambassador, and campaigner. Twenty years a victim of domestic and sexual violence by the hands of my family. My abuse started when I was very young, at five years old. The emotional abuse quickly turned into physical, sexual, and later financial abuse from members of my family, along with two attempted forced marriages and many suicide attempts. BTSUK is here to help others who are / or have been experiencing domestic abuse, forced marriage and/or human trafficking by providing services to support through our therapy programmes for adults as well as children.