Chloe’s Story

"The Award has given me confidence in my own abilities"

It’s hard enough for most teenagers to juggle school, home and leisure commitments without having to take responsibility for their families. But Chloe has done so for several years, ever since she was 10 years old and her mother became ill and needed repeated hospital treatment. Chloe has not only looked after her mother, but has cared for a younger sibling.

And as if that wasn’t enough, she gives selfless service to other people as a representative of young carers on the Powys Youth Forum and Community Health Council, as a trained Childline mentor, by tutoring younger pupils with learning difficulties, sitting on the School Council, and by helping to deliver sex education to Year 9.

Despite the demands placed Chloe, she participates fully in school and community life. She hopes to be a doctor and succeeds in her many academic commitments. And despite all these achievements, she was completely surprised to receive a Diana Award: “I sincerely thought I would never in a million years receive such a prestigious award”.

Chloe has since featured in the Daily Mail, and has spent time volunteering at the Welsh Young Carers festival in Builth Wells. Even so, she remains completely modest about her achievements and keeps her feet firmly on the ground: “The Award has given me confidence in my own abilities and it’s also nice to be recognised for things I have done that I don’t actually consider to be extraordinary, but I enjoy or have to do as part of everyday life.”

She is an inspiration to us all.