THEY'RE off to Buckingham Palace!

Today the Argus reveals the five Young People of Achievement from Sussex who have been chosen to meet the Queen. We asked readers to nominate exceptional young people who they felt deserved the chance of a lifetime. They could have made an achievement in any area of their lives, be it in personal terms, at college, work, sport, or as part of the community. All the entries were outstanding, but now the final five have been agreed. They are Warren Kingston, 28, of Harvard Road, Ringmer; Peter Snashall, 18, of Wallsend Road, Pevensey; Samantha Ayre, 22, of Wickhurst Road, Portslade; Fleur Boxell, 24, of Wilbury Villas, Hove; and Robert Floyd, 19, of Exeter Close, Tilgate, Crawley. All have scaled inspiring heights in their lives. Wheelchair user Warren teaches disability awareness for the Prince's Trust Volunteers and in schools. He now aims to become a qualified youth worker. Peter has overcome severe physical and mental disabilities to become a member of England's paralympic swimming team. Young mum Samantha became pregnant at 15 and went on to pass her GCSEs and A-levels before qualifying as a midwife aged 22. Car crash victim Fleur lost her younger sister in the same accident but rebuilt her life to gain a place to study music at university. Robert lost one of his hands after being badly burned aged six months, but despite multiple operations, fulfilled his ambition to pass his driving test first time. Carole Ayre, Samantha's mum, summed up the views of those who put forward nominations. She said: "Samantha is thrilled to bits. She doesn't want to be a hero and doesn't think she's done anything special, but I think she has." Samantha said: "I am very pleased. I never imagined I would get this far." The fantastic five will attend a prestigious reception on June 1 joining nominees from around the UK. It will be held inside the Buckingham Palace State Rooms, where the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will mingle with guests. Argus news editor Claire Byrd said: "All of the nominations we received deserved recognition, and it was a shame we could not send everyone to the Palace. However, the final five selected to meet the Queen are outstanding individuals."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.