Chris Carter I WAS privileged to witness the crowning of our Young Citizen on Tuesday and it was a humbling experience. Besides Laura Downs being honoured for her work with children excluded from school, Charlie Hogg received the runners-up prize in the Redbridge Rota

Chris Carter

I WAS privileged to witness the crowning of our Young Citizen on Tuesday and it was a humbling experience.

Besides Laura Downs being honoured for her work with children excluded from school, Charlie Hogg received the runners-up prize in the Redbridge Rotary/Recorder sponsored scheme.

Also present at Gilwell Park, Chingford, were pupils from Valentines High, Gants Hill, who received their Interact presidential collars, along with students from Ilford County High honoured for winning a monthly Young Citizen award.

All of these young people smash the myth that teenagers spend their time committing crime and terrorising the community.

They have made the decision to spend their valuable time helping people and contributing greatly to the community.

Rotary members gathered at the event were visibly impressed and will doubtless go away with a fresh impression of young people.

And that's what we hope our launching of the Young Citizen award, with the help of Redbridge Rotary Club, will achieve.

We have, along with other media organisations, been accused of demonising teenagers and painting a false picture of how it is.

Young Citizen gives people the chance to glory in the good things youngsters do and we hope to carry on the scheme and bring our readers some good news stories about teenagers.