SCHOOLS and colleges are inherently a huge part of their community and this award is all about those people going the extra mile to help children, families and projects.

The shortlist included: Zaibun Khan and Helen Cowan from Eastwood Primary School, Suzanne Louch from Academy St James and Rabena Hussain from Iqra Academy.

The winner of the award was Rabena Hussain, a mental health champion at her school, who has helped support the local community, and people abroad, through her commitment to volunteering and a radio show broadcast right across the world.

She said: "I think it's really important the fact that we put something back in the community, especially supporting the families in a deprived area, looking out for them, and just being there for one another.

"Most of the work I do is voluntary work and I've done it from a very young age - age of 15 - and I've carried on going all the way through.

"I absolutely love it and I find it so rewarding.

"There's nothing back in return I need from them, it's just to see the fact that I can see a smile on the face and I make a difference in their lives."

One of Ms Khan's biggest passions is mental health.

She said: "I've also done a radio station show where I was tuned in in 84 countries, it was all over the world - America was one of the countries that tuned in.

"I did a mental health talk.

"Then I took out my children from the school on the live show and we had people from other countries tuned in, asking for us to come back.

"Royal Radio has offered myself an opportunity to come on the radio every Thursday to do a mental health talk and to make a difference to those, not just in our country, but all over the world."

This has never been more important than during the coronavirus pandemic and Ms Khan has implemented strategies to help people cope in the community.

Read our other in-depth interviews with each winner below:

Or take a look at how the overall event went here...