The Island’s young heroes have been crowned at Isle of Wight Radio’s Child of Wight Awards 2024.
The event, with headline sponsor WightFibre, took place at Tapnell Farm Park for the 3rd consecutive year on Friday (7th September), with nominees given the chance to partake in a range of fun in-house activities before celebrations got underway.
The evening also featured a breathtaking performance from The Starlight Academy.
The awards were fronted by Breakfast Show hosts Paul Topping and Emily Wells.
Overall winner (sponsored by Wightfibre)
Reuben and Arlo Brimson
5-year-old Arlo was forced to take a trip to St. Mary’s after a white glow was spotted in his right eye. Following hours of testing, it was shown to have been caused by a mass sitting behind his right eye that turned out to be a 4 centimetre tumour.
Having been referred to the Royal London Hospital, he had to have his right eye removed, with the delicate and painful surgery subsquently followed by an intensive course of chemotherapy.
While Arlo came to terms with the effects of his chemotherapy and gradually got used to his new artificial eye, older brother Reuben remained a source of joy and comfort for him.
Reuben also received outstanding levels of support at school, and has gone from strength-to-strength.
He has been incredibly supportive, not just to Arlo but also to baby sister Norah, who was born safe and well midway through Arlo’s treatment.
Young Conservationist Award (sponsored by Wildheart Animal Sanctuary)
Harry Burdett
Harry has shown an interest in caring for the planet since the age of 4. Starting with simple things ensuring household items get recycled, he felt compelled to act when witnessing people dropping litter both at school and on the beach, and decided to take action.
His school subsequently added a weekly litter patrol and Harry raised £500 alongside his parents with a series of community litter picks.
Fundraiser of the year (sponsored by Red Funnel)
Ralph Ayres
Tenacious 8-year-old Ralph completed this year’s Walk the Wight in memory of his Grandmother who passed away last September. She had spent her final days in the Mountbatten Hospice, and Ralph was determined to raise money in her memory and support one of the Island’s most beloved charities.
Setting off at 05:30 from Bembridge, he finally reached the Needles at 18:00 – raising just shy of £1,000 in the process.
Best Friend award (sponsored by Glanvilles Damant)
Sophie Brooks
Sophie won the award after supporting best friend Sydney, who is Autistic, has extreme anxiety and also Tourette’s Syndrome. This included consistently offering support, encouragement and companionship in her daily life – especially at school.
Sydney is currently undergoing therapy – a process which has involved her detailing the good and not so good at school.
The good was her best friend and a list of all the things she does to make her days easier.
Best Performer (sponsored by The Garden)
Starlight Academy Juniors in Newport
This award goes to not one, but 5 young dancers who have been doing the Island proud in competitions both home and abroad.
The Starlight Academy Juniors – consisting of Auriella, Aria, Imogen, Diwata and Lily – recently brought home a cluster of medals after joining Team England at a prestigious global dance competition in The Netherlands.
Now aged just 8, 9 and 10 years old, the 5 girls travelled to the Global Dance Open Finals in Apeldoorn back in July to compete in a number of disciplines including ballet, jazz, street dance and acro sections – going up against dancers from around the world.
As a group, the girls finished in 2nd place for their jazz routine, while their commercial group dance was placed 3rd.
Best Sibling Award (sponsored by ICR Touch)
Theo and Toby
These siblings forged an unbreakable bond in the face of overwhelming adversity and the saddest of circumstances. Their Mum, Zoe, tragically passed away in May 2020 – just 55 days after being diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma Cancer.
To make an already terrible situation worse, her illness occurred at the height of the initial Covid lockdowns.
During this time, Theo and Toby – then aged just seven and five – would go out for walks with their Grandmother, play with her in the garden, and look after Zoe when she was home.
In the 4 years since Zoe’s death, Theo and Toby have shown strength and maturity beyond their years.
Young Achiever (sponsored by Phoenix Care Group)
George Douglass
Upon joining the Sea Cadets, George set his sights on achieving the top rank of Petty Officer Cadet.
With Covid and the resulting lockdown, it looked unlikely that George would have the time he needed to realise that ambition. However, a combination of hard work and dedication saw him successfully pass two boards to rank up in just 6 months – he has now achieved the Petty Officer Cadet rank which he had his heart set upon.
The fact this was accomplished at the same unit attended by his grandad and great-grandfather makes it even more poignant.
Sporting Star (sponsored by Education Destination)
Teddy Bishop
Having become accomplished at a myriad of sporting endeavours, Teddy has shown a particular talent for running and regularly takes part in both junior 2k and senior 5k park runs. He became the youngest person on the Island to complete 50 Senior park runs and has become well-known and respected throughout the tight-knit community.
Teddy, who enjoys and has shown a knack for all sports he’s tried his hand at, was recently selected to take part in a cross country event representing the Bay C of E Primary School.
His most recent challenge saw seven year-old Teddy attempt the Randonee. He had seen his Dad complete the the event for each of the past two years and was determined to give it a go himself.
It was no surprise that this amazing youngster completed the 55km course at his first attempt.
The Asa Singleton Courageous Child Award (sponsored by Wightlink)
Jaine Stanley
The winner of this award was diagnosed with early onset infantile scoliosis at just 9 months of age. She went on to wear a full body brace 23 hours-a-day for nine of the first 10 years of her life.
Jaine spent 7 weeks in hospital during lockdown, being strapped to a bed all day with weights hanging from both her head and ankles in order to stretch her spine before surgery.
To date, she has undergone 17 different spinal surgeries, some even taking place on her birthday, and many of which failed – she has on numerous occasions been back in theatre before she’s even ended the recovery period from a previous surgery.
Just over a year ago she underwent her final fusion. This was the hardest recovery of the lot and also one of the most painful.
After wearing a total of 15 back braces, Jaine has recently received the amazing news that she no longer needs one.
Jaine, who is now 14, also helps to look after her 8 year-old sister who has Downs Syndrome, and continues to be educated in a specialist medical unit as the local authority was unable to provide a place in mainstream schooling that met the required safety criteria.
Make a Difference Award (sponsored by Utilita)
Lily Rose Blake
Lily’s long list of roles, achievements and commitments are simply staggering – something which shows no sign of letting up despite her currently studying for her GCSEs. Passionate about youth development, she spends her life helping and supporting others whenever she can.
Lily is currently a member of both the Youth Trust Task Force and the Youth Council; volunteers for Mentors in Violence Prevention; is a Young Leader with the 1st Newport Cubs, and a member of the Explorer Scouts.
She is taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, and as a member of the 1st Newport Scouts was one of the Isle of Wight contingent chosen to go to the World Scouts Jamboree in South Korea.
Young Carer Award (sponsored by Deltron Lifts Coastal)
Gracie Mai Langford
Gracie, a 12-year-old girl with additional needs of her own – has been acting in tandem with her mother for the past year as a carer for her grandmother.
Throughout this difficult time for the family, Gracie has been kind, compassionate, maintained a great sense of humour and managed to light up even the darkest of days.
When her grandmother started a course of chemotherapy, friends were asked to stay away from the family home, something which Gracie adapted to courtesy of her selfless and loving nature.
Following the ceremony, all the winners congregated for a group photo with proud parents looking on.
John Irvine, CEO of lead Child of Wight sponsors Wight Fibre, said:
“We love the Child of Wight Awards and have been been sponsoring this event for almost a decade now.
“There are some fantastic young people on the Island and it’s great to give them the recognition they deserve.
“You can see here tonight that for many young people the Island is a wonderful place, it’s good to recognise their achievements.”
