Reporter GARETH DAVIES is proud to be chairing the judging panel for this year's Youth in Action Education Awards and today he announces the shortlists.

THIS is my first year chairing the judging panel and presenting the awards, and after seeing it last year I’m really honoured to have been asked to do so.

From teachers to dinner ladies and students to caretakers, I met some superstars at the 2014 event at the American Express Community Stadium.

We’re now at a new and equally prestigious venue which is a fitting place to honour the leading lights of Sussex’s schools, colleges and sports clubs.

I’d like to think I’ve got a bit of a reference point when it comes to these awards, having worked in schools in and around Cardiff as a teaching assistant, cover supervisor and coach for two years before turning to journalism.

During that time, I could only have dreamed of being allocated schools like the ones I’ve visited on behalf of The Argus.

Schools are judged, rightly or wrongly, on their exam stats and I’ve covered every nerve-wracking GCSE and A-level results day for the last three years.

But today is not all about grades.

The Youth in Action Education Awards dig deeper to celebrate schools and the people who make them great.

It’s easy to grade an exam, but how can you put a mark on the support a mentor gives to a struggling pupil?

How does a teacher get an A* for being there for a student when the going gets tough?

How does a school get an outstanding Ofsted report for charity work?

They can't and that’s where we come in.

We are here to make sure all of those things that would usually go un-noticed are recognised.

To make sure the unsung hero has his or her moment.

Today we reveal the shortlist for each category

Musical Achievement of the Year sponsored by BIMM

Shortlist

Matthew Heslop

TROMBONE player Matthew Heslop has been making great strides in the world of music.

His appointment as Christ’s Hospital’s prestigious role of band captain was seen as a great appointment and has led exceptionally.

He is taking his Diploma of The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music this term.

Olivia Middleton

FARLINGTON School’s Olivia Middleton attended the Regional Round of the National Rotary Club’s Young Musician Competition in April having won the vocal category of both Local and District Rounds.

Olivia was one of an extremely high-quality field and although she was not selected to go forward to the final round, her performance garnered high praise from the judges.

Tom Sissons

TOM Sissons is a rapper-come-poet-come-politician and his work has been so popular he was rewarded with a UK tour.

Tom is a prize-winning, self-proclaimed slam poet and spoken word artist and won the Brighton Hammer and Tongue South East Poetry Slam competition for spoken word performance poetry.

Academic Achievement of the Year sponsored by University of Sussex

Yann Newby

YANN Newby is an exceptional science student from Central Sussex College’s Sixth Form in Haywards Heath who received the Gold CREST award for his research into seed preservation.

As part of a his research placement at Nuffield the 17-year-old from Haywards Heath worked at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank as part of Dr Jayanthi Nadarajan’s research team.

Tabitha Jackson

BRIGHTON College’s Tabitha Jackson got A* A-level grades in English, Spanish, Latin and French, averaging more than 99% over the four subjects and will go on to study medieval and modern languages at Trinity Hall in 2015.

Eve Rothwell

EVE Rothwell has continued from GCSE where her subject grades were all A*s except for an A in Latin.

She churned out four As at AS level and already has an A in some of her A-levels.

Sportsperson of the Year sponsored by Brighton and Hove Albion

Cassie Brewer-Wren

CASSIE Brewer-Wren’s improvement in track and field has been monumental in the last year.

She only started athletics at an after school club at Coldean Primary School, but has been snapped up by Brighton Phoenix Athletics Club.

She is now enjoying a successful debut season at under-13 level, despite still being only 11 years old.

Peter Bullivant

PETER Bullivant is not only a part of the Downlands Community School Year 10 football team, the Downlands Cross Country Team and playing up an age group in the school’s football set-up, but he is also a demon on the ski slopes.

Harry Shooman

HARRY Shooman is not only excelling on the field, but he is inspiring the next generation of sportsmen and women.

His coaching CV is bulging thanks to his constant hard work at City College Brighton and Hove, seeing him not only improve himself as a coach but bringing the best out of those he is coaching.