COUNTY CHAMPION AND WINNER OF THE HIGH SHERIFF'S LEADERSHIP AWARD

Michael Miller, of Hartley Youth Group.

Nominated by Charlotte Maycock, New Ash Green's Police Community Support Officer

This young man called is known to the police and youth workers in the Hartley, New Ash Green and West Kingsdown area - but for all the right reasons. In fact, PCSO Maycock describes him as a bit of a rising star.

As the head of the Hartley Youth Forum, Michael helps youth workers and the police to organise meetings, activities and special events to give young people focus, encourage them to stop hanging around on the streets and establish a rapport with the authorities. Probably the most special of those events was a police versus local youths paintballing contest.

But one unusual incident really caught the judges' eyes. Because of a lack of suitable premises, his youth forum meets in the lounge of an old people's complex. One day, youths - not connected to Michael's group - broke in and trashed the room.

Michael, realising how this act of vandalism would distress the elderly and vulnerable residents, worked hard to calm their fears. He and another of his group even organised a face-to-face apology on behalf of all young people to the worried residents.Charlotte says this typifies the mature, polite and positive action of this young man who she describes as a fine example to others.

HIGH SHERIFF'S LEADERSHIP AWARD

Highly Commended

Tammy Utteridge of Woodlands Youth Centre Gillingham

Nominated by Tony Lee, Safer Communities Officer for Gillingham South

In the last couple of years, 16-year-old Tammy has made some really significant changes to her life. She has become a senior member of Woodlands Youth Centre and works hard to make it a success. She mentors others and has recently been accredited to a YMCA college which has enabled her to become a team leader.

In a recent clean-up day she was commended for her leadership qualities and the way she kept a tight rein on the clean-up squad of nine youngsters as they went around the neighbourhood cleaning away graffiti and picking up rubbish. Mr Lee says Tammy has earned the respect of the Youth Centre members, the staff at the Centre and the community she helps.

CommendedAdam Aldridge, Greenacre School, Chatham

Nominated by PC Geddes, of Medway police, and Dan Wise, Head of Music at Greenacre School

It may be a little known fact, but the Medway Towns have their very own School of Rock, although they don't actually call it that. It has the far more respectable name of Training Them Live.

Adam is Chairman of the youth executive board which runs the group and he has organised contacts with no fewer than 21 Medway secondary schools and set up a youth network with representatives in most schools.

It has created a platform of communication which promotes the music project but also gives widespread impact to the messages to young people from Kent Police and Medway Council. But Adam has done much more.

He has helped many young people learn the basics of being in a band. He has led a team of young mentors who ran sessions for young people and he even worked with one of the bands that was struggling and actually played alongside them at a special Showcase event in front of a packed audience.

Mr Wise says he is a great role model for young people and has developed many leadership skills and willingly gives his time and energy to help many other youngsters.

CommendedSam Harding and Kyle Davies of Woodlands Youth Centre

Nominated by Tony Lee, Safer Communities Officer for Gillingham South

These two 17-year-olds have recently completed a football coaching course and are using their new skills to help and mentor other youngsters in their community. Mr Lee says their hard work to help other youngsters is worthy of recognition.

KENT POLICE AUTHORITY SCHOOL AWARD

Winners

Emily-ann Bolderston, Shannon Eastoe, Daniel Read, Cheyne Middle School, Jefferson Road, Sheerness.

Nominated by Jan Tutils

These three young people already have two very high powered admirers, Prince William and Prince Harry. They ran a special group at their school which focussed on celebrating diversity and combating racist incidents and bullying. They called it a "good differences" group which came about from a buddies group that was so active it dealt with about 40 cases a day.

Emily-anne, Shannon and Daniel wrote school policies and had an anti-racist policy printed in all students' contacts books. Their work, already well known locally, was recognised nationally when they were three of just 100 UK students who were invited to dinner with the Royal Princes in recognition and celebration of their fantastic work.

Now the young people's Respect Award is happy to add to the appreciation for their tremendous work.

Highly CommendedThe Performing Arts Group, Towers School Sixth Form College, Ashford.

Nominated by PC David Archer .

Because of a problem with antisocial behaviour in the Ashford area, the Towers School decided to stage an antisocial behaviour awareness day as part of the citizenship programme. Enter, stage left, the sixth form's Performing Arts Group.

Its members were called on to give a dramatic presentation depicting various kinds of ASB to the whole of Year 7. They decided to emphasise some of the low-level types of behaviour that some young people might not even consider to be antisocial.

It all went so well that that they had to do it again - this time in front of the cameras. The Kent Police TV unit got involved and the Gulbenkian Theatre at the University of Kent was taken over for a day and the result is ASBO, a DVD of the group's play which will be distributed to other schools so youngsters across the county can benefit from it.

PC Archer was very impressed with the youngsters' focus, hard work and dedication as they slaved away to produce ASBO. He said they were a credit to their school. Those nominated were:

Donna Ashby, James Barker, Chelsea Cairney, Lauren Claire, Chloe Dedrick, Freyja Hides Westwood, Lara Hailey, Kathleen Hall, Brogan Kettle, Charlotte Lane, Terry Pavlou, Sarah Peacock, Francesca Pegg, Ellie Pilcher, Josh Pounds, Alex Prior, Jordan Quigley, Molly Sciberras, Kathryn Sexton, Laura Sexton, Chloe Wade.

CommendedNew Brompton College, Year 11, Peer Mentor Team

Nominated by Jan Harsent, School Counsellor and Peer Mentor Team Coordinator

This team provides a one-to-one mentoring service for younger students and, in particular, helps vulnerable youngsters to deal with a variety of issues, including low self-esteem, lack of confidence, relationships with their peer groups and bullying.

They start to help before the children even join Brompton by visiting the junior schools and getting to know the new intake of pupils. Some of the team are trained in mediation and use their skills to resolve cases of minor bullying and relationship difficulties - skills they will take with them into adult life.

And Jan, who nominated them, points out they do all this while coping with their own school work and exams.

The senior team members who are mediation trained are Amy Allen, Tom Bradman, Daniel Brown, Emily Burrows and Gary Noakes. The other team members are Scarlett Bull, Elizabeth Campey, Gareth Coulter, Amy Dennis, Terrie Jayne Elms, Samuel Lacey, Shanice Patel, Dionne Shillibeer, Louise Turner and Tommy Vince-Drew.

KENT AND MEDWAY SOCIAL LANDLORDS' AWARD

Winner

Christopher Powell, Bradley Powell, Laura Amer, of Bysingwood Youth Club, Faversham

Nominated by Phillippa Moth, the youth club leader.

Over the last year or so Bradley, 15, Laura, 17, and Christopher, 17, have made the Bysingwood area of Faversham a nicer place to live. That's the view of Phillippa Moth who has watched these three youngsters throw themselves into the running of this new youth club and the community centre where the group meets.

They are founder members of the group and they give up huge chunks of their spare time to make it work, give young people a focus and keep them out of mischief. They formed the committee that runs the club and they are also involved in the management of the community centre itself and fund-raising for it.

They went on training courses run by Kent Youth to improve their skills in running the club - skills they happy to pass on to other club members. They even attend meetings of the town council's youth working party and the Bysingwood group of Faversham Forward.

They have planted a garden outside the centre and enlist the help of junior club members to keep it weeded and the grounds tidy.

Phillippa says they set an example to all young members of the community on how to behave, take responsibility and get involved.

Highly Commended Jack Devine of the Shepway Youth Forum

Nominated by Rob Needham, a Shepway District Council Housing Officer.

Jack Devine has made a real difference to this youth forum, which he chaired for a year. His energy, ideas and hard work have helped to win young people widespread respect in his community by demonstrating that they care about what goes on.

Here's just a few of the things the 19-year-old has been involved in.

A Question Style forum at which police and politicians were quizzed by young people about things that matter to them. The youth forum became involved in Remembrance Day for the first time and laid a Poppy Day wreath. He challenged adults to clean up their act instead of blaming youngsters for being responsible for litter. And he even appeared on a BBC politics show to make the voice of youth heard.

Mr Needham said Jack was a good role model for young people and the Forum was an organisation which enabled youngsters to work positively for their community.

Commended James and Bethany McCrossman, Louisa and Abbie Fisher, Samantha Garlinge, Court Meadows Estate, Littlebourne.

Nominated by KCC Community Warden Ken Campbell.

As the Court Meadows Estate was built, an area of land between two rows of houses was left undeveloped. But these five young people had a different idea. They thought it would be the perfect spot for a safe play area for the younger children growing up in the area. Rather than just talk about it - or moan because no one was doing anything about it - they took the initiative themselves.

First they got the support of the people living in the area. Then they put their idea to the parish council and the Sanctuary Housing Group. The ball was rolling ...

Kent County Council's safety partnership and the KCC warden for the area got involved. Eventually funding was raised. And now the younger children of Littlebourne have a fantastic adventure playground to enjoy, one that is safely fenced off from the road - thanks to the determined efforts of James, Bethany, Louisa, Abbie and Samantha.

KENT CRIMESTOPPERS' AWARD

Winner

Valley Park Community School, Maidstone

Nominated by Nicola Bowden, Community Youth Tutor.

Nineteen youngsters from Valley Park were nominated for the creative way they helped raise awareness about domestic violence. The students went to their community youth tutor with the idea to support a conference being held by the Women's Support Service charity in Maidstone.

Having got approval to proceed they spent months preparing and rehearsing their presentation. And on October 9 they took the stage at the Hazlitt Theatre and gave two, three hour presentations of drama and songs about the dreadful impact domestic violence has on families.

Nicola says their involvement meant that many more people attended the event and were able to learn about these important issues. And she says that because of all the youngsters put into it their performances were fantastic.

The students involved were Dann Brann, Ryan Bayliss, Stefan McDonough, Lori Young, Stacy Spence, Rosie Brotherwood, Stephanie Bryant, Toby Fisher, Emily Smith, Laura Boulding, Gemma Morley, Amber Foston, Emma Reeve, Beth Hyland, Amanda Hartridge, Hannah Sharp, Hollie Lawrence, Jonathan Pope and Megan Scott.

Highly Commended Woodlands Youth Centre Clean Up Squad

Nominated by Tony Lee, Safer Communities Officer for Gillingham South

Nine members of the Youth Club aged between 12 and 16 went on a day - long cleaning blitz in Gillingham. For nine hours they scrubbed away graffiti, painted, picked up litter and cleared up the garden of a local community centre.

Tony Lee said their huge effort and dedication not only made a notable difference to their part of Gillingham it was of enormous credit to them and their club.

The youngsters involved were Charmaine Robb, Jason Collinson, Jamie Smith, Dean Ford, Holly Kidney, Bryne Hudson, Tammy Utteridge, Leanne Zahra and Tom Baker

CommendedMinstarz, Minster, Thanet.

Nominated by KCC Community Warden Steve Taylor.

Watch out for the Minstarz - they could be going places. The seven youngsters who make up the group used their musical talents to showcase the message about under-age drinking. As Steve Taylor says, that's no easy task.

But the song written and sung by Scardee ( real name Adam Morley) rams home the potential perils face d by kids if they are worse the wear for drink. Backing was by Danni Leslie, Shani Murray and Natasha Radford. And Ruby Allen, Maddie Burton and Nina Badwell supported the song with a dramatic dance routine.

Steve Taylor says the youngsters worked hard in their own time to ensure they could get across an important message in a powerful way. So powerful, in fact, that it won a competition by Kent County Council's safety partnership.

Now a CD and DVD has been made of the Minstarz special performance so youngsters across the county can watch, listen, enjoy - and learn.

CHARLTON ATHLETIC COMMUNITY SCHEME AWARD

Winner

Billy Boswell, Grove Road, Maidstone.

Nominated by Charlton Athletic Community Scheme coach Alex McKay

About 18 months ago Billy's life was going through a difficult patch but despite his troubles one thing didn't falter - his passion for soccer and, in particular, football coaching. His school, Oldborough Manor, asked Charlton Athletic Community Scheme to help.

Billy was put on an FA Level 1 football course. He passed. And that was just the beginning. He now works with the Charlton scheme's full-time coaches in delivering the Kent Social Inclusion programme in North Kent, Swale and Maidstone helping young people who need help.

Alex says Billy has turned his life round and is going from strength to strength. He said: "I believe it is a credit to him to have come so far and achieved so much."