celebrations | WightFibre

Child of Wight awards — Credit: StageGear

On Friday the 13th of May, a very special audience joined Isle of Wight Radio and main sponsor WightFibre at the new Venue for the awards; Tapnell Farm, for an evening of celebration at the Child of Wight Awards 2022.

After a long wait due to covid, this year’s awards gave even more focus than usual to the extraordinary achievements of young people across the Isle of Wight. The event provided an opportunity to recognise some truly inspirational young Islanders and celebrate their compassion, hard work and personal achievements.

Altogether, 13 amazing young people from the Isle of Wight received recognition during the awards. With so many deserving nominees and inspiring stories, the judges were faced with the difficult task of selecting the winners.

The awards also reflected the importance of celebrating the achievements of young people within the Island community, bringing local families, organisations and businesses together for a memorable occasion.

Celebrating the Child of Wight Awards

The Child of Wight Awards recognise young people from across the Isle of Wight, celebrating achievements in a variety of areas.

The 2022 event included categories recognising courage, sporting achievement, fundraising, young carers, performers, friendship and young people who make a difference. The individual categories were supported by a range of local organisations, while WightFibre sponsored the Overall Award.

The awards offered the opportunity for each winner’s achievements to be recognised and celebrated in front of those attending the ceremony.

Overall winner (sponsored by Wightfibre)

One particularly special moment of the evening was the announcement of the Overall Award winner.

Born three months early weighing just 500 grams, Hartley Brett has been through more than most people do in a lifetime. He spent nearly the first year of his life in hospitals and has since been back and forth on many occasions.

Despite such a tough start to life, Hartley has not stopped smiling.

Hartley’s sister Lily accompanied him to the ceremony, alongside his aunty Claire, who nominated him for the aware.

Following Hartley’s win, Lily said:

“I’m feeling really nice about it [Hartley winning]. We weren’t expecting it either!”

Claire also spoke about what the recognition meant:

“There’s so many wonderful people out there so just to have him nominated is absolutely amazing, but actually to win, I’m quite emotional about it all.”

Recognising Young People Across the Isle of Wight

Hartley was joined by many other young Islanders who received recognition during the event.

The awards celebrated achievements across several different categories. These included Most Courageous Child, Sporting Star, Young Achiever, Fundraiser of the Year, Make a Difference, Young Carer, Best Performer, Best Brother, Best Sister and Best Friend.

Together, these categories helped shine a light on the different ways young people can have a positive impact on their families and the wider Island community.

You can re-watch the awards on this live stream from Isle of Wight Radio’s Facebook page.