A group of 16 remarkable young people from Leicester and Leicestershire along with their families and friends joined the Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire at County Hall for a ceremony to celebrate their achievements.
Congratulations go to Grace Dhesi who received the top prize of the evening, becoming the Lord-Lieutenant’s Young Person of the Year 2025.
This year’s ‘red carpet’ awards evening and dinner was hosted by the Lord-Lieutenant, Mike Kapur OBE CStJ supported by the Vice Lord-Lieutenant Col Richard Hurwood DL, his Deputy Lieutenants Mrs Sally Bowie DL and Mrs Diana Brooks MBE DL, along with panel members Rick Moore and Byron Dixon.
The four finalists shortlisted in each of the four categories were recognised for their dedication at the event on 7 May for going above and beyond to help others and for their remarkable outstanding personal achievements.
The category winners were:
Young Person of Courage - Joshua Bates, who attends Dorothy Goodman Sixth Form.
Young Volunteer – Grace Dhesi, who attends Leicester Grammar School.
Young Leader – Piper Sinclair who lives in Leicester.
Young Artist of the Year – Alex Budding, who attends De Lisle College.
These four young people were all considered for the overall award of the Lord-Lieutenant's Young Person of the Year which this year went to Grace Dhesi.
“I felt really privileged to be here, celebrating my time volunteering, which isn’t something I see as a responsibility – rather just something I find a part of life, and find rewarding in itself to be giving back to the community.
“To even be noticed for that volunteering, I already felt like a winner. To be awarded winner of the Young Volunteer category and then be chosen as the overall Lord-Lieutenant’s Young Person of the Year, I felt honoured and humbled simultaneously.
“Honestly, I feel really privileged tonight to have been able to meet and talk to so many other incredible young people from across Leicestershire.”
Person:Grace Dhesi, Young Person of the Year winner
"Our city and county's young people continue to be an inspiration to us all.
“It is always a privilege for me to host this annual awards event and share these extraordinary young people’s stories with our guests on the night. Their bravery, creativity, strength of spirit and selflessness is amazing.
“As Lord-Lieutenant, I want to make sure that the individual talents and outstanding contributions of every one of our finalists are recognised and appreciated more widely within our communities.
“All too often, our young people go unnoticed by the wider community. I hope that these awards will continue to offer an opportunity to shine a spotlight on them. I urge anyone who knows a young person they think deserves recognition and encouragement for their endeavours to look out for details of my 2026 awards later in the year.”
Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire, Mike Kapur OBE, CStJ
The Lord-Lieutenant Young People of the Year awards are sponsored by a variety of organisations offering services to young people and are supported by Leicestershire County and Leicester City Councils, together with universities and the business community, and seek to identify and reward the very best examples of achievement by young people locally.