Our Young Stars: Time to vote

THE time has come to vote for your favourite in News Shopper's Our Young Stars competition.

Over the past two months we have been inviting nominations for youngsters who are doing good things, the ones who are making a success of their lives, the ones who don't get the credit they deserve for the good things they do.

Dozens of young people have been put forward by proud parents, teachers and friends.

We now want you to choose a worthy winner from the list of nominations, the person or group you think is most deserving of being the Our Young Stars champion for 2008.

The overall winner will receive £500 of vouchers to spend at The Glades shopping centre in Bromley.

To vote, simply send the keyword NSSTARS followed by a space and then the name of your nomination to 80360.

Each text costs 50p plus your normal operator charge. All profits from text messages will go to local charities. The vote will close at midnight on October 31. Service provided by Newsquest Media Group.

Our Young Stars nominations:

• Marta Dobrowolska, aged nine, from Orpington: Marta moved to England from Poland two years ago and couldn't speak much English. Now she is fluent and performing to very high standards at school. She is now helping a new Year 1 pupil, also from Poland, settle at the school.

• Yasemin Olcusenler, aged 16, from Eltham: Yasemin is the head girl at Crown Woods School. She got 11.5 A* grades and 3 A grades. She also received a letter from Edexcel examining board to congratulate her on being one of the top 10 performing students in the country.

• Nichola Dixon, aged nine, from Plumstead: Nichola is currently working above the national average in reading and writing while in maths she is working within the national average. She also plays the ocarina and piano, and has taken part in music festivals.

• Luke Neale, aged 16, from Dartford: Luke has been through an awful lot. He suffers with cerebral palsy, has had lots of surgery on his chest and spine. Despite all this he has caught up with nearly three years of missed school work and enjoys going to school.

• Emmanuel Obasa, aged 16, from Eltham: Emmanuel has spent many years helping out at local primary schools in a number of sporting events and working as a community sports leader. He is always prepared to give up his personal time to support events and has been an excellent role model for all the young people he has worked with.

• Kirsty Mason, aged 14: Kirsty has a love for animals and spends many of her weekends and time after school working as a volunteer at her local animal sanctuary.

• Georgina Clark, aged 15: Georgina helps run a brownie pack each week. She is a great help to both the leaders and the helpers all of who are also volunteers, and the brownies all look up to her as a role model.

• Sarah McKean, aged 17: Sarah is a young carer, who gave up school to look after both her father who has dementia and her mother who suffers from depression.

• Sarah Caddock, aged 16: Sarah is a young leader for brownies and guides. She is also the junior head chorister at Christ Church Bexleyheath and theatre manager at her school.

• Josh Luton, aged nine: Josh has done fundraising work for charity LIFE by taking part in an eight-mile sponsored walk and performing a recorder piece by himself at a concert. He is also a dedicated altar server who finds time to look after his autistic brother.

• Jack Kennedy, aged 16: Jack has done more than 500 hours of unpaid voluntary work for St John Ambulance. He is on the Catford South youth panel. He has also joined the Hereditary Multiple Exostoses Support Group, which helps HME sufferers like himself.

• Patrick McQuilkin, aged 13, from Catford: Patrick is the south-east region youth Honda powerboat champion who will be competing for the National Championship for the Adventure, Help and Opportunities for Youth Centre based in Deptford. He is also a volunteer at the centre who helps new members.

• Brooke O'Sullivan, aged 10, from Bromley: Brooke has helped pioneer a walking scheme for her school, to encourage more parents to walk their children to school.

• Amy Barr, aged 12, from Beckenham: Amy organised a campaign to provide a machine for a lady with cerebral palsy to help her communicate. She also organised a petition for a member of the public who could not go on Big Brother due to being in a wheel chair. Thanks to the petition, the person was able to go on the set and have a full tour.

• Alek Makucewicz, aged 16, from Longfield: Alek has been fencing since the age of seven. He has a current senior ranking of 44th in Britain and a world ranking of 450th. He trains three times a week and hopes to fence at the Olympics.

• Orpington Street Dancers, aged between six and 14: One of our youngest pupils aged six qualified for the Official World Championships this year by coming third in the under-12 section against people twice her age. Another two pupils qualified for the European championship and two other appeared on the Disney Channel.

• Ben Knight, aged 15: Ben is a talented singer, actor and dancer. He has good manners, who will hold open a door and let a lady go first. He is also very caring and kind and has helped out with the school on a project for sport in schools for special needs children.

• Emma Williams, aged 11: She goes dancing at least four times a week, and has won lots of trophies.

• Debbie Ubochi, aged 15, from Bromley: Debbie once had to choose between pursuing a netball career or hanging out on the streets getting into trouble. She chose netball, and will be representing England - the only under-17 in Kent to get a place. She trains and plays three times a week.

• Joseph Kolendo, aged 15: Joseph is an extremely talented guitar player who aspires people to have a career in music.

• Charlie Blanks, aged 12: Charlie attends local theatre groups and is a member of the Lewisham Youth Theatre Group. He is looking for his big break and one day hopes to become an actor.

• Jodi Quilter, aged 16: Jodi is a dancer and singer who achieved a merit in exams at Italia Conti. She has also won medals in dance and drama.

• Sophie Brundish, aged 15: Sophie is part of the Elite Gymnastic squad where she competed in the prestigious Mayor's Cup in Russia in September last year. She came first in beam, second in floor and bar and third overall.

• Tia Anderson, aged 15: Tia represented England at the World Hip Hop Championships in Bremen, Germany in June. She came seventh in the world overall.

• Lydia Riordan, aged 15: Lydia represented England at the World Hip Hop Championships in Bremen, Germany in June. She came seventh in the world overall.

• Samantha Castleton, aged 15: Samantha represented England at the World Hip Hop Championships in Bremen, Germany in June. She came seventh in the world overall.

• Remix Street Dance Team, Gravesend: This dance team consists of 12 girls and one boy aged between 12 and 15. Last year they were Kent Dance Challenge winners for the second year running, as well as Dutch Open finalists and world championship semi-finalists. This year they were Dutch Open winners and UK SDI Championship winners.

• Eleanor Barton, aged 13, from Bromley: Eleanor passed her Grade 7 in piano with distinction and recently played her 10 best pieces at a day centre for stroke victims.

• Naomi Francis, aged 14, from Catford: Naomi has reached Grade 6 on her trumpet, performed in orchestras, featured on a Christian music CD and has also been in a hip hop video.

• Jessica Stuart, 16, lost her brother Adam to meningitis but still managed to achieve one A* and eight A grades in her GCSEs. She has also found time to hold fundraising events in memory of her brother, who died aged 17 in October last year.

• Lyn Ann Kasujja, aged four, from Penge: Lyn Ann had massive surgery on her stomach when she was a baby and spent six months in hospital. After recovering she demonstrated a special talent for tennis and now teaches her friends at nursery school how to play.

• Sarah Louise O'Donnell, aged 17: Sarah Louise used to help her grandparents with housework and shopping for two years before her grandmother died of cancer. Then her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and given an eight-month course of chemotherapy. While helping her mother, Sarah Louise had to divide time between her and her grandfather, who had also fallen ill and eventually died.

• Kin Yi Chung, aged 11: Kin Yi plays the violin as a hobby, and is preparing for her Grade 4 exam. She has achieved a merit for Grades 2 and 3.

• Daniel James Weston, aged 12: Daniel does well at school, and has been very strong with his parents splitting up and his grandparents dying.

• Hayley Gregory, aged 15, from Orpington: Hayley has Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a life-threatening skin disease, and requires weekly hospital appointments. She also has breathing difficulties and is partially sighted. Despite this, she is an asset to her school who produces work to a very high standard.

• Brett Edgley, aged 10: Brett has complex learning, physical and health needs. He has had to take long periods off school to have a gastronomy and faces surgery to his spine and legs and botox treatment in his upper and lower body and his mouth. Despite all this, Brett hasn't let it affect his school work.

• Katryn Vassilev, aged 10: Katryn has Rett Syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes gastrointestinal problems. She has been faced with changes to the bone and muscle in her feet which makes moving painful and difficult. As a result she will have to have extensive corrective surgery. Yet she has come through and is rapidly becoming an independent swimmer and is a very good horse rider.

• Bradley Taylor, aged 9, from Dartford: Bradley started ballroom and Latin dancing 16 months ago. He has won 18 trophies in six competitions and come through a bout of bullying to succeed in what he loves.

• Stuart Shuter, age 17, Sidcup: Stuart's learning disability doesn't get in the way of his acting ambitions. Despite having Down's Syndrome, he takes part in drama at school and is a member of two drama clubs outside school. His dream is to be on Eastenders.

• Ben Steers, age 14: Ben is a musician who plays in a saxophone quartette and a guitar group. He is also a keen rower and has represented Greenwich.

• Lauren Skinner, age 14: Lauren has performed in numerous concerts. She has also achieved high grades in her SATs exams.

• Isobel Turner, age 14: Isobel has represented her school in athletics, football, rounders and netball. She has also represented Greenwich in rowing. She also got two level 7 grades and a level 6 in her SATs.

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