International award for student

AN 18-year-old student has received a top award for helping to provide a voice for young people around the world.
Niamh Costello, from Thelwall, who studies the International Baccalaureate at Warrington’s Priestley College, has received the International Award from the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association.
She said: “I have gained a lot from many of the things I have done, but at the same time it has benefitted other people.
“I have always enjoyed what I have done and have met some amazing people.”
Niamh, a former pupil at Lymm High School, started on Warrington Youth Council aged 13 and is now a trustee with the North West Youth Work Unit.
Among her achievements with the regional body has been to develop a policy for stricter confidentiality to protect pupils who consult school nurses and doctors.
This was recently launched by the government and has been rolled out to schools across the country.
Niamh dealt with representatives from the NHS as she led the development of the policy.
She said: “This is one of the things I am most pleased about.
“It was a personal goal, but also a group achievement and an area where we have really made a difference.”
The Sixth Form Colleges’ Association also rewarded Niamh after she travelled to Brussels for a four-day event designed to help young people from across the world to share best practice.
Niamh offered other teenagers advice on how she was giving a voice to young people in Britain and also brought home some tips of her own including how to access European funding for youth projects.
The 18-year-old also took part in The Tall Ships Race, which involves young people from across the world in a sailing challenge.
They have to work together to complete the race – last year it was Dublin to Spain – and Niamh’s team won both times she entered.
Now she hopes to study English at Oxford and eventually work in social research or policy guidance on an international level.
“Studying the International Baccalaureate has really given me a global perspective and broadened my horizons,” she said.
Senior tutor Mark Salmon said: “I nominated Niamh for the International Award because of her outstanding commitment to her work for Warrington Borough Council and also her excellent work each year at the Model United Nations Conference.
“She has been an outstanding member of the Graduate programme and we wish her every success in realising her goal to study English at Mansfield College, Oxford.”