Final call for applications to the £200,000 Ambition AXA Awards (14 October 2011!)

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Published on Saturday, 08 October 2011 10:12

Last Updated on 11 October 2011

Monica Costa

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Applications to the Ambition AXA Awards have been flooding in from talented young people in London, but organisers are urging more applicants to get in touch as the deadline approaches. The Ambition AXA Awards are open to anyone between the ages of 11 and 18 who really wants to succeed and has the talent to do so, whether it’s in sport, enterprise, the arts, science, or in the community. The winners will receive a chance-of-a-lifetime bespoke development package to support them in the achievement of their ambitions, which could be worth up to £40,000 each (a total prize fund of £200,000).

 
Encouraging young people in London, Sir Alan Steer, the Chairman of the judging panel, said: “There are many talented young people out there with ambitions of making it to the top, but what can make all the difference is a helping hand to point them in the right direction. We want to be able to help shape the future of young people and give them the chance to shine.”
 

The deadline for applications is Friday 14 October via www.ambitionaxaawards.com.

Surveys* of young people in capital since the launch of the Awards have found:
 

92% say they are ambitious

20% hope to have achieved their key ambition in life by 18 to 25.

27% do sport once a week

32% want a career in science

76% are interested in running their own business when they’re older

44% would like to live and work close to where they live now on leaving school.

 
The winners will be selected by a panel of high-profile leaders in their field and announced on 30 November 2011. Leading the panel is Sir Alan Steer, a former head teacher and behaviour specialist, with senior AXA representatives. They will be joined by:

 
·         Enterprise – Karren Brady, Vice Chairman of West Ham United, and John May, CEO of Young Enterprise

·         Science – Jason Bradbury, Presenter of The Gadget Show, and Annette Smith, CEO of The Association of Science Education

·         Community – Camila Batmanghelidjh, Founder of Kids Company, and Lucy de Groot, CEO of CSV

·         Sport – Amy Williams, Olympic gold medallist, and Marc Woods, Paralympian and Director of The Youth Sport Trust

·         The Arts – Alex James, musician, and Laura Gander-Howe, Director, Learning & Skills Strategy at The Arts Council England.

 
* All surveys were carried out by OnePoll at different times between March and August 2011 among a UK sample of 2,000 11 to 18-year-olds.