Philip Lawrence Awards at UCL

Sir Trevor MacDonald, Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Dr John Reid MP, and Mrs Frances Lawrence - Mr Lawrence's widow - presented the awards to eight groups from across the UK.

The national awards were established ten years ago in memory of the head teacher Philip Lawrence, who was fatally wounded in an attack outside his school in North London.

Run by the charity '4Children' and funded by the Home Office with support from UCL Widening Participation, the awards celebrate outstanding citizenship by groups of 11 to 20 year-olds through projects that help promote community safety and counter crime, violence and racism.

The Home Secretary said: "Yet again the awards have discovered young heroes across the country. These young people are making lives better for their peers and for the wider community, through their active and responsible citizenship. Sometimes we can be slow to acknowledge the positive contribution that younger people make to our communities. These awards show us all how we can work together with friends and neighbours to make a positive difference."

The 2006 winners hail from diverse backgrounds and tackle a range of important social issues, such as challenging public perceptions of disability, promoting racial harmony, combating truancy, raising awareness of teenage drinking and addressing the realities of teenage pregnancy.

Sir Trevor McDonald, Chair of the Philip Lawrence Awards judging panel, which includes UCL Vice-Provost (Academic & International) Professor Michael Worton, said: "In so many instances these brave, selfless young people come up with their own ideas about how it can be done with minimum assistance from local voluntary organisations or local councils. I congratulate them all."

• Links:
• Philip Lawrence Awards
• UCL Widening Participation