Miss York in second bid for Miss England title

The 21-year-old, from Norton, has been allowed to compete again as she was the highest ranking contestant from the county in the national contest last year, said Miss York organiser Naomi Smith.

“This could be a chance for the 2007 result to repeat itself with myself and Georgia,” said Naomi, who as Miss York 2007 was runner-up in the national contest to Georgia Horsley, who had been Miss York in 2005 and got to the final in 2007 as Miss Photographic.

Naomi said she wanted to quash the stereotype that such contests were for girls with nothing more to give than their looks.

She said: “That has never been the case with the Miss England competition. It has a bit of everything in it, from The Apprentice to Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor to Children in Need, raising hundreds of thousands for charity.”

She said that at the semi-final, which would be staged at the Biltmore in York on March 11, candidates would be interviewed by a panel of judges and sponsors about their jobs/studies, personal and professional ambitions, hobbies, talents and views on various subjects.

“You need to be able to present yourself in a positive light and be aware of current affairs and the world around you,” she said.

“You need to have the ability to converse with people from all walks of life and present yourself and the competition in the best possible light.”

She said entering boosted girls’ confidence levels and often gave them courage to go on and achieve unrelated goals.

“One contestant last year said that before taking part, she had been worried about going away to university as she didn’t have much confidence and was concerned about making friends,” said Naomi.

“Having taken part in the competition she has since faced her fears and gone and has made a lot of new friends and is really enjoying herself.”

* To enter Miss York 2012, email naomi@missyork.co.uk or go to missyork.co.uk by no later than March 5.