The Isle of Man’s unsung young heroes have been celebrated for their work within the Manx community.

Youngsters who have made a contribution to the community, their school or the island as a whole, either as individuals or as part of an organisation or charity, were honoured at Isle of Man Newspapers’ third Young Citizen of the Year Awards.

The awards sponsored by Manx Telecom, had six categories - sportsmanship, determination, environmental, volunteerism, arts and leadership.

As well as receiving a Young Citizen of the Year award, each of the winners were presented with Beats Solo2 On-Ear headphones.

Dan Williams, commercial manager at Isle of Man Newspapers, said: ’These young people represent their school, young group or just themselves on the world stage and we are here to give credit to those who fully deserve it. They have worked tirelessly to exceed any expectations others may have had, gone the extra mile and often beyond, and looked for no accolade or self recognition in return.

’Society is often quick to judge the young members of the community based on the actions of a few, who stray from the path. We see and hear articles in the newspaper, on social media and on the radio, daily, telling us about young people and drugs and stealing or driving erratically.

’Often we fail to notice those in the community that go unsung, achieving outstanding results academically, raising standards and money for charity and making the Isle of Man an island that is admired for being a warm, friendly community and an outstanding place to live.

Marg McGee, marketing executive at Manx Telecom, said: ’As the island’s leading telecoms provider, and a major employer, we take our role in the community very seriously and are therefore delighted to continue our support of the Young Citizen of the Year Awards which do a fantastic job in recognising and rewarding the contribution which young people are making to island life.

’All nominations were truly inspiring and we hope that they will inspire and encourage the next generation of young citizens to follow their example.’

Arts - Robyn-Mae Lawler

Robyn-Mae started performing on stage at the age of nine in Isle of Man’s Got Talent she has since gone on to perform on stage and film in nearly 30 productions.

She is the current Young Singer of Mann, which sees her perform at local charity events and is a recipient of the Alan Pickard Award for the highest scoring candidate in an ABRSM exam.

Robyn has sang and helped create a charity CD for Manx Cancer Help which raised more than £1,000 as well as having a principal role in a musical specifically performed to raise funds for Wish Upon a Dream charity.

She is currently a grade 6 and Inter Foundation ballet, Grade 8 modern student performing regularly with her dance school at local events.

Robyn is a role model to the students of the Platform Theatre School, where she performs and helps younger students develop skills in the arts.

Robyn also brings the arts into her volunteering for her Duke of Edinburgh Award to Onchan Beavers only recently teaching a musical theatre number. Finally at the age of 13 Robyn was a finalist for Young Actor of Mann, she has been very supportive of the arts in four years.

Determination - Sean Jackson

Sean had his right leg amputated at the age of one year old. This has never stopped his determination to succeed as a sportsman, particularly excelling at football. He is an excellent goalkeeper and has represented Ballakermeen High School since year seven (aged 11).

Sean plays for St George’s under 16s and won Player of the Year for the under 15s. He has represented the Isle of Man Centre of Excellence for football.

He now travels often to Manchester to train as part of the Manchester City Amputee Team. As Sean cannot play as an amputee goalkeeper, he has had to retrain to play outfield on crutches.

Sean has been nominated for Disability Sportsman of the Year 2016. He has also represented Ballakermeen at cricket and basketball. Sean always has a smile on his face and is a popular and well liked student.

Sports - Rachel Marie Deighton

Rachel is a student of the RSD School of Dance based at the Fun Factory in Onchan. She voluntarily teaches dance to students younger than herself from ages six to 13 years old.

She teaches classes for two hours on Monday evenings, an hour on a Tuesday and three hours on a Saturday mornings.

She covers classes when the teachers are away on Wednesday and Fridays for three hours.

She dances herself four days a week. She pays her dance fees like everybody else so dedicates her time for no financial reward.

Rachel also plays netball for Thompson Travel Netball Club. She plays netball for her school team and has proven to be a committed, as well as an able player, attending every training session and volunteering to umpire when needed.

She even attends training when injured and helps with the sessions in any way she can, be it feeding the ball or timing drills. She is part of the school sixth form committee and helped to organise a staff v students football match which raised £400 for a charity she chose, Young Epilepsy.

She does all this at the same time as studying for her A-levels and applying for university (in order to be a PE teacher). She has a lovely way with children and she is always prepared for sessions, planning them meticulously. Her patience is one of her biggest virtues and she helps others without fuss or fanfare.

Volunteerism - Sophie McKnight

Sophie helped to create an in-school charity, BallaAngles, she encourages younger students in the school to make angles and write poems on them which are then taken to nursing homes - a different one each year.

In her time out of school, Sophie takes part in social activities at the Castle View Nursing Home.

She has applied to attend a sign language course, as she has been teaching herself so far. Sophie has made posters offering assistance with shopping and handed then out in the local area, she is now assisting the elderly with their shopping and plans to increase this after her exams are over this summer.

Sophie has applied to the Alzheimer’s Society to be a befriender. She has completed an online course and will soon be a working befriender visiting people in the community.

Sophie also coaches a children’s football team, Douglas Athletics and has sold poppies for the British Legion. Sophie is in the Army Cadets and regularly attends parades. She has marched on Tynwald day and manned the stand on the fair ground. Sophie is a part of the welcoming team at Cadets and runs the cadet shop.

Sophie is always generous with her time in school, raising funds at the Christmas Market by making a product to sell. She is on the 11 year book committee and has volunteered as a car park attendant at school events in the evenings.

Environmental - Ciara Butler

Ciara feels passionately about the subject of animal rights and testing. She chose to write a piece of English coursework on this topic as she wishes to highlight how animal cruelty is a serious issue.

Ciara has taken part in tree planting at Corheeny and has volunteered to litter pick around the school on a number of occasions. She volunteers at Rainbows and has taken part in litter picks there as well.

Ciara studies iGCSE geography and has an interest in the environmental impact of travel and tourism.

Leadership - Hana Lawrie

Hana is a year 10 student who has had 100% attendance throughout all of her years at school.

She often helps other students with homework and revision and acts as a role model to others in her position of Form Captain. Hana is a keen public speaker and was a key member of the team that reached the North West regional finals of the ESU mace debating competition.

Hana is committed to equality and women’s rights. She has written two pieces of work about these issues; one about the unfair pricing of feminine products and one about Donald Trump’s anti-abortion views and policies.

Hana won the Rotary Club of Douglas public speaking competition in 2016 with a speech about children in school and how the lessons they learn set them up for life.

Hana is a well-respected student who leads by positive example.