WESTBURY’S Katie Bradbeer, 17, who has been honoured with the British Citizen Youth Award for her dedicated work with local cadets, has received a special presentation at the Palace of Westminster.
Last year Katie, former head girl at Matravers School, was selected as one of just 25 extraordinary young people from across the UK to be recognised with the British Citizen Youth Award (BCyA). Due to Covid, the recipients received their Medal of Honour by courier instead of the usual presentation. Now, however, Katie has been presented with her Certificate of Honour at an award ceremony, held at the Palace of Westminster. The award was made by TV presenter, Tim Vincent, a former Blue Peter presenter.
The British Citizen Youth Award, in association with Specsavers, is now in its fifth year and recognises exceptional under 18s who have positively impacted their communities.
The BCyA states, “For the last 4 years, Katie has been a dedicated member of the Matravers School Combined Cadet Force (CCF). Her personality and leadership is widely recognised within the CCF, her school and local community. Katie provides a voice for the young people in her community. There are 120 cadets attending CCF where Katie oversees their learning by supporting those junior to her in rank, ensuring all activities are engaging, fun and makes the cadets feel part of one big family.
“Within Westbury there are 33% of children living in poverty and 35% of people between 16-25 that have no formal qualifications. Due to Katie’s contribution at local youth network and town council meetings, she has provided the missing insight of a young person, for those who are not confident enough to voice their ideas.
“Due to the disadvantage gap in Westbury, Katie assisted the staff to achieve bursaries for cadets who fall into this category. She has written applications securing bursaries of up to £200 per cadet, to ensure they can participate in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and attend camps, where they can make new friends, learn new skills and participate in activities.
“Katie is dedicated to improving the lives of others and her consideration for others wellbeing is an inspiration. She sets an example for others to follow, encouraging compassion and a sense of belonging to the CCF family and wider community.”
Dame Mary Perkins said: “The British Citizen Youth Award recipients are very special individuals. These young people all go above and beyond for others with selfless acts of kindness and community spirit with no thought or expectation of praise or reward. These awards are a great opportunity to shine a light on what they do and give them the recognition they so thoroughly deserve. They are the nation’s true unsung heroes and the rising stars of the future.”
Each Medal of Honour bears the words ‘For the Good of the Country’ and are presented to only a small number of exceptional young individuals annually. The British Citizen Youth Award is widely viewed as the nation’s way of recognising extraordinary, everyday young people for exceptional endeavour and are truly representative of today’s multicultural Britain.
