THE star quality of volunteers who dedicate their time to work with young people in York was celebrated at a glittering awards ceremony in the city.

The annual Lord Mayor's Shine Awards celebrated the best and the brightest volunteers at an event, held at Vale of York Academy in Clifton.

The contributions of individuals and organisations who work with young people were recognised by the Lord Mayor, Cllr Barbara Boyce who congratulated the winners and hand out the certificates.

One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the Ann McKeown Award for Excellence.

This award was introduced last year in memory of Ann who died suddenly in July 2016. She was a much loved head teacher at Huntington Primary Academy for many years and an avid supporter of the Shine Awards.

Her husband, Geoffrey, handed out the awards to a dozen deserving individuals.

One of the winners of the Volunteer of the Year Award was Phoebe Kilvington of Vale of York Academy. The Year 11 student, set up a mentoring scheme within her school to support the new Year 7s as they moved from primary to secondary. She has recruited a team of mentors to continue her work with the younger students throughout the academic year.

Event organiser, Tim Waudby, Community & Partnerships Officer at City of York Council, said: "The Shine Awards allow us to really celebrate the incredible work, time and dedication that so many York citizens put in to helping young people in so many ways. It always proves to be a very emotional evening and I am humbled every year by some of the stories we hear.

“We were delighted to hold the awards ceremony at Vale of York Academy this year for the first time. They did an amazing job of hosting the event and everyone was made to feel incredibly welcome, so a big thank you to them."