The 2010 awards ceremony was held on 16 February at OPEN in Norwich and hosted by TV presenter Jake Humphrey, who returned to his home county to present the awards. There were eight award categories each with a £1,000 prize to help the winners further their ambitions and an extra £1,000 for the Winner of Winners.

And the winners were:

Winner of Winners and Education

Eighteen-year-old Thomas Heaffey, from Neatishead, won the education prize and winner of winners award for his determination to succeed academically and raise awareness of Meares-Irlen Syndrome, a form of visual stress which makes activities like reading difficult.

After struggling with reading and writing for years Thomas thought he would never do anything other than shelf filling as a job. But shortly before his GCSEs he was diagnosed with Meares-Irlen Syndrome and dyslexia, and after getting the appropriate support everything changed.

Instead of his predicted F grades he achieved one A, three Bs, six Cs and one D at GCSE, and is now studying art at Paston College. He hopes to study architecture at university and is dedicated to making people more aware of Meares-Irlen Syndrome. Thomas has spoken about it at conferences and on TV, and was involved in producing a video about Meares-Irlen Syndrome to be shown at schools and colleges across the country.

Thomas said: “I was ecstatic to win the education award because it proved not only to myself but also to my schools that I have been able to achieve something. To then also win the Winner of Winners award was phenomenal.”

Also shortlisted for the education award:

• Adelino Guilherme Dos Santos, 17, from Bungay, for excellence in languages.
• Joe Pease, 15, from Blundestone, for excellent academic achievements and his work to improve his school, Cliff Park High School, in Gorleston.

Sport

Felicity Foulds, 18, from Tunstead, was given the sport accolade for commitment to dinghy racing.

She was the first female in more than 11 years to finish in the top three at the UK National Championships and the first female to be in the top three in consecutive years. At the 2009 World Championships she improved her final position from 18th to 3rd, and was the first female in 19 years to be in the top three. Felicity has also improved on her national ranking from third to first.

Also shortlisted:

• Victoria Williamson, 16, from Norwich, for cycling excellence and being accepted on to the Olympic Development Programme (GB Junior Team) for sprint track cycling.
• Claire Stock, 18, from South Wootton, King's Lynn, for excellence in gymnastics and representing her country many times.
• Giarnni Regini Moran, 11, from Lowestoft, for commitment to men's artistic gymnastics. Giarnni has been part of the GB U12 National Gymnastics Squad for two years running and has won many gymnastic accolades.
• Kieron Jessup, 17, from Eye, for athletics achievements including being accepted into the athletics squad for Mencap England.

Norwich Lowriders Basketball Team is a team of 20 young people established to give physically disabled youngsters a chance to participate in competitive team sport.

Young Farmer

Emily Rout, 18, from Tibenham, won the young farmers award after being a finalist at last year's awards. 
Emily, a member of Norfolk Young Farmers, has been combining studying for a foundation degree in agricultural management with developing her own dairy herd and working to get more young people involved in agriculture. She is especially keen to promote stock judging to young people and in March is holding a stock judging day.

Also shortlisted:

• Robert Crawford, 16, from Topcroft, Bungay, for work with his herd of Ayrshire cattle and his father's herd of pedigree Holstein cattle.

Tom Buck, 15, from Yaxham, for his part in starting the Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Poultry Club.

Charity

Farlingaye High School Sixth Form's charity committee, Woodbridge, won the charity award for its commitment to raising funds for good causes. Cake sales, quiz nights and school discos are some of the ways the team has collected funds for charities including Comic Relief, Help for Heroes, and an orphanage in South Africa.

Also shortlisted:

• Amy Read, 15, from Great Yarmouth, for raising more than £800 for the Breast Cancer Campaign after her mum Susan Read was treated for breast cancer.

Ashleigh Gowing, 16, from Great Yarmouth, for work at Autistic Way - Smart Kids OK play centre in Great Yarmouth.

Culture

14-year-old Josh Worley was awarded the culture award for setting up the youth radio station SNYA Radio.  Josh, from Tharston, secured £48,000 of funding for the station which is run from Long Stratton Leisure Centre by a team of 25 young people, including some who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Also shortlisted:

• Indie and pop band The Longsight, from Dereham, which has recorded two albums and been asked to perform with the BBC Concert Orchestra.
• Samuel Meakin, 16, from Felthorpe, for dedication to playing the trombone and continuing to excel in his instrument despite suffering from a collapsed lung.
  

Community

A Norwich-based group of 11 to 16-year-olds called The Right Direction picked up the community award for helping the homeless and also creating DVDs for schools and youth groups. The first DVD, Domino Effect, looks at knife crime, while Respect and Protect promotes safe sex, and Fatal Impact is about road safety.

Also shortlisted:

• West Norfolk Bronze Duke of Edinburgh's Award Group, for work on a home fire prevention awareness campaign with Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service.
• Holt Youth Project, for forming ROPE (Reaching Out Project for the Elderly) and organising events for older members of the community.

Environment

Holt Youth Project was awarded the environmental award for forming Roots Group, an environmental and gardening group. The team has worked clearing trees, brambles and gorse at Holt Lowes to turn the habitat back to its natural state.

It has also has cleared waterside areas at Pensthorpe Nature Reserve to create room for reed growth and provide more nesting sites for bitterns. The team has also helped expand feeding and breeding areas for butterflies and dragonflies at Pensthorpe and worked to help wildlife flourish at Holt Little Hills.

Also shortlisted:

• Bungay High School's BTEC 1st Certificate in Countryside and the Environment Level Two Group, for increasing biodiversity and public access on land such as Roydon Fen.
• Toby Greenwood, 18, from Little Ellingham, for conservation work on Norfolk Wildlife Reserves.
  

Bravery

Two winners shared the bravery award and received a £500 prize each.

Grace Hodson, 18, from Little Melton, has shown immense bravery in dealing with scoliosis (a lateral curvature of the spine). She has undergone a number of intrusive treatments including wearing a back brace. After she finished her year 12 exams she had the courage to undergo an operation which could have resulted in paralysis, and at the same time she completed a research project about scoliosis.

Rosie Van Raalte, 16, from Dereham, has shown exceptional courage while battling osteosarcoma (primary bone cancer) in her left arm. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in September 2008 and has endured gruelling chemotherapy and a major operation where the tumour was removed and bone from her leg was placed inside her arm. At the same time she has had to cope with the loss of her granddad and manage her type one diabetes