JAGO Wickett, age 11 from Week St Mary, has been presented with the Medal of Honour at the Palace of Westminster, from The British Citizen Youth Award patron, Dr Alex George.

The British Citizen Youth Award, in association with Specsavers, is now in its fifth year and recognises exceptional under 18s who have positively impacted their communities through the county. Jago was one of only 23 extraordinary young people have been honoured with The British Citizen Youth Award for the 2021 Roll of Honour.

Jago started fundraising at the tender age of nine, raising over £1,000 towards the new Cancer and Well-being Centre in Barnstaple. Most recently, he completed a fundraising challenge by cycling 500km. Each day, irrespective of the weather, Jago would cycle from home to school and back, covering 20km of hilly and gruelling terrain to raise funds for the Mermaid Centre (Cornwall Breast Cancer Unit), at The Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro.

The route was very challenging, and the total elevation covered is the equivalent of cycling up Mount Everest. The challenge required lots of preparation and being mentally and physically focused. Jago’s original aim was to raise £200, but the mission captured the community’s interest and support, raising £5,679.79. This took from April to June 2021.

All monies raised have gone directly to the Mermaid Centre, under the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust Charity and will go towards supporting people in Cornwall that have received a diagnosis of breast cancer and also helps support the monitoring of people with a family history of breast cancer. Jago is always looking for ways to help others in the local community and also regularly keeps the village war memorial clean and tidy.

Each Medal of Honour bears the words ‘For the Good of the Country’ and are presented to only a small number of exceptional young individuals annually. The British Citizen Youth Award is widely viewed as the nation’s way of recognising extraordinary, everyday young people for exceptional endeavour and are truly representative of today’s multicultural Britain.

Sarah Wickett, Jago’s mum, said: “We are delighted to have joined Jago to collect this honour, the experience was amazing and we felt very humbled to have been in the same room as some of the country’s most wonderful, inspiring young people that have actively gone out to make a difference to their communities, whether it be fundraising, meaningful campaigns or raising cause awareness.

“We know Jago’s fundraising has inspired others and that makes Jago feel really proud and he would be more than happy to share his experiences with others. Once again we would like to thank the local community for their support as without them none of this would have been possible.”

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2022 medal presentations – register online at www.british citizenyouthawards.co.uk