Urban Hero Awards 2010: Achiever Award

A teenager from Harpurhey has won the Achiever Award at the 2010 Urban Hero Awards, presented by Manchester youth charity, The Message Trust.

Andrei Keating, 15, has impressed family, friends and teachers by transforming his attitude, achieving significant qualifications over the last year, and telling others about his story.

Andrei’s start in life was difficult, losing his father at an early age and growing up in an area officially listed as one of the most deprived in England.

But his real problems began in school, following a family tragedy. The emotional damage led to a long period of absence and eventually exclusion from school.

His last chance was a place at Harpurhey’s Lighthouse Group – a special education centre working with teenagers who have been excluded from mainstream schools, working in partnership with The Message Trust.

Graham Boxall, youth development worker at the centre, remembers when Andrei arrived: ‘He first came to us in January 2009 – angry, aggressive and negative about most things. He was argumentative, always trying to prove his point and he struggled to engage in class learning.

‘The team worked closely alongside him, getting to understand him and build a close relationship. We supported him to deal with his emotional issues, directing him and helping him.’

Thanks to this support, Andrei began to see things differently:

‘It was like looking from the third person,’ remembers Andrei himself. ‘I could see what I was doing to other people. I was losing a lot of my friends because of the way I was acting. I took a step back, saw what I was doing and decided I needed to change. I saw that I couldn’t keep going in that direction.’

Staff at the centre remember how one morning, Andrei walked into the centre, sat down and declared, ‘I want to work. Let’s stop messing about and get on with it.’

They assumed he was playing a joke. But Andrei turned out to be very serious and has applied himself ever since. He worked hard towards an ASDAN bronze award, and recently achieved his silver award.

‘Support from the Lighthouse Group and Eden Harpurhey team was like a circle of positivity,’ says Andrei. ‘I didn’t think I was much of an achiever. But I’m proud of myself now.’

With a couple of qualifications now under his belt, Andrei is aiming for a career in music as an MC, rapper and producer. He has said that he only wants to rap using positive lyrics.

Andrei’s award, one of five, was presented at this year’s Urban Hero Awards at Manchester’s Palace Hotel on July 9. The awards recognise young people who stand out as having made major changes in their lives or particularly positive contributions to their communities.

Graham Boxhall explains why they nominated Andrei:

‘We nominated him for the Achiever Award because of the change we’ve seen in him. We know his background and how tough it’s been for him. For many people these events could easily have led to a path of self-destruction and possibly crime.

‘But Andrei has managed to break free from what may have led to this destructive lifestyle by listening to and and being influenced by positive people around him, staying focussed on his education and spreading a positive message to his peers and anyone who’ll listen.’

Andrei’s award was presented by Andrew Leakey from Stephenson’s Solicitors, the Award sponsor.