A BRENT Knoll teen has been honoured at the Palace of Westminster during the inaugural British Citizen Youth Awards.

Bethan Rees, 14, was one of twenty youngsters from across the country recognised for their positive impact on society. communities, charities or other good causes.

The awards were presented by Kimberly Wyatt from the Pussycat Dolls.

Bethan became involved with the charity Educate the Kids, which helps provide an education for desperately poor children in Kenya, following a family holiday to the country in 2009. She was inspired by her grandmother, local fundraiser Sue Stevens, and motivated by the sight of young children in Kenyan villages whose families simply can’t afford to send them to school.

Since then, Bethan has been helping with fundraising and raising awareness of the charity at every opportunity. Events have included coffee mornings, charity shops, car boot sales, plant sales, jewellery stalls and multiple tombolas and raffles every year. When Bethan was just 11-years-old, she completed a 10km swim and raised enough money to sponsor a child’s education for several years. She is planning a further sponsored event next year to continue to pay for 10-year-old Deborah Chome’s education.

Bethan has recently been doing the administration and publicity work for her grandmother who has organised a recent tour of the Burnham-on-Sea area for 23 children, known as The Singing Children of Africa. The Singing Children of Africa is a choir chosen from the 700 pupils at Jolaurabi School. Bethan has also travelled to Kenya on several occasions assisting with vital work at Jolaurabi Kindergarten and Primary School.

Bethan also met with James Heappey MP, who said: "I had the pleasure of welcoming Brent Knoll's Bethan Rees to Parliament today.

"She was presented the award for her amazing work raising money for a school in Kenya. She's been doing it she was seven - just incredible!"

Bethan was nominated for the award by a teacher at Hugh Sexey Middle School where she was formerly a pupil.

Bethan’s parents Steve and Sarah Rees were delighted to learn of Bethan’s award: “We are extremely proud of all the work that both Bethan, and her younger sister Megan, do to help the children in Kenya “.

Bethan was unaware of the nomination until learning that she had been selected by the assessment panel, from a huge number of applications, as one of only 20 young people around the country to receive the award.

She said: “I am really pleased as this will help raise awareness that many children in Kenya are unable to go to school, not because they are not bright or not keen, but because they are too poor. They have no hope of breaking out of poverty if they do not get an education.”