EXCEPTIONAL young people from across Greater Manchester have been celebrated at an awards show held at the University of Bolton.

The Greater Manchester Young Citizen of the Year Awards 2021 were launched by The High Sheriff of Greater Manchester, Bolton's own Diane Hawkins, and are a chance to identify young people within the metropolitan area and highlight their kindness, thoughtfulness, bravery, or actions that have made a difference to our communities.

Dignitaries from across the county attended the event, including Prof George Holmes, university vice chancellor.

Not only was the event hosted in Bolton, but there were several young people from the borough being honoured on the night.

Zuzanna Kolodziej and Holly Hargreaves together work on the Security and Intelligence Project, Bolton, which Holly co-founded in September 2021 as part of an enrichment project at Bolton Sixth Form.

Holly has dedicated her time to developing a database based on crime in the local area as well as teaching other students how to input data.

She said: “We have gathered a large quantity of data and have looked into the types of crime, aspects associated with each crime, the status of the incident and more. These insights are inspiring others to join in and open their eyes to something new.”

Zuzanna added: “I like anything law-related. I really enjoyed the idea that I can help the police through them having a database that they can input instead of needing to sift through many crime logs.”

Braydon Stringer has been a member of the 14th Bolton Boys Brigade for 11 years, where he has been involved in fundraising efforts and has a reputation for always helping the other boys.

Braydon said: “I have been a member of the Boys Brigade since I was five. We have raised money for Derian House Hospice and funds to buy equipment so all the members of the brigade can go on holidays.”

He added: “I promised my grandma that I would help all those who need support in our community.”