17 year old Tara Love from Nuneham Courtenay has won the prestigious Gareth Evans Achievement Award which recognizes not only a young person's gifts and talents, but also his or her commitment to use that potential for the benefit of the wider community.

The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) held its fourth Awards Ceremony at the Mansion House in London on Monday 10th October 2011. The venue was donated by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Michael Bear. There were fifty invited guests along with the Sheriff of London, Wendy Mead CC, who also presented the awards. The award is presented in the form of a glass star with a framed certificate and carries with it an exclusive day at the CBI in London along with a Waterstones gift card.

This is the second prestigious award this year for her apolitical project ‘Girls and Politics’, aimed at promoting interest for girls to learn about or move into politics and inspire them to lead. Just three months previously on July 13th 2011 Tara attended the House of Lords with Lord King, Baroness Verma and Baroness King present amongst other dignitaries, and received a ‘Youth Achievement Award’. ‘She was greeted warmly by Baroness Verma who said she had noted her as a future leader from a previous meeting’ and said; ‘I met Tara Love a year ago and she stuck out to me because she asked me: ‘What can I do?’ and now she has gone out and done it’.

At fourteen Tara embarked with a passion on a project to aid girls move into politics and inspire them to lead. In the next three years Tara researched and worked hard in this aim. Despite her mother being diagnosed with a brain tumor and undergoing life-threatening surgery, she continued through this adversity to create ‘Girls and Politics’.

Tara currently attends The Henley College and used her project as the ‘Extended Project’ AS level and received an A* for her efforts. Her website underwent a successful trial run and is now awaiting an official re- launch as patrons’ line up to support her work.

These awards endorse and support her work for the continuation and initiation of the organisation ‘Girls and Politics’ an apolitical project. The website provides a location and portal for girls to learn, engage, and interact with their contemporaries who express a similar interest and enable these young people to understand politics in general and to potentially become active political citizens or members of parliament in the future. The organization will run courses for girls to enter into the political sphere and a national club for them to interact in.

Based on information supplied by David Love.