A DEDICATED Wee County teenager is hoping to leave a lasting legacy for future generations following her anti-bullying work.

Alloa Academy's Susie Lambert, who was named Clackmannanshire Young Citizen of the Year 2019 at a ceremony last week, humbly insists the award is not just for her, but a whole team of young people involved.

The pupil's dedication, commitment and contribution throughout last year was key to the success of the school's Anti-Bullying Group, especially when it came to the preparation and delivery of events.

Susie also chairs the local youth council and collected her accolade from Provost Tina Murphy at Clackmannanshire Council's Kilncraigs HQ last Tuesday, March 10.

Later speaking with the Advertiser, the youngster paid tribute to the whole group at Alloa Academy, supported by guidance teacher Mrs McNeil.

Susie said: "We've done a lot of work to try and make sure that the next generation of kids coming up and for the kids here that Alloa is a place where they are safe and they know that they have people they can talk to."

That process started around two years ago with a pupil inquiry and Susie added: "I got involved both due to my own personal experiences and watching friends go through experiences.

"I wanted to bring about some change to make it a more positive place."

It is already having a positive impact and efforts are focused on making sure there is a lasting legacy with new pupils joining the group.

Susie's accolade will be a welcome addition to her CV, especially as she is hoping to potentially work with in the areas of human rights law or politics in a bid to bring about positive change.

The 17th instance of the awards aptly saw a record number of 17 nominations.

Runners up included Melissa Smith, who took part in a pupil-led inquiry and developed an idea for teacher evaluations.

Sharing third place were Aidan Witty and Kayci Longmore who have both taken part in various fundraising efforts for Macmillan.

Other finalists were Tony Syme – read more about the 17-year-old elsewhere today, Harvey Reid, Paul Murphy and Daniel McKenzie, the S6 cohort at Alva Academy, Alison Bett and Daniel Briggs, Archie Baxter and Thomas McGregor, Brodie Robertson, Caitlin Gillespie, Daisy Turner, Katie Henry, Ben Johnson and Mia Mitchell as well as the Alloa Academy Anti-Bullying Leadership Team.

A "proud" Provost Tina Murphy, who presented certificates to all, said: "The standard is always very high but it went way beyond that, it was exceptional and made it very hard to select an overall winner.

"Any one of the nominees could have taken first place. Even selecting the runners up was difficult and that was why we had for the first time two in third place."

She explained it was a "bumper year" with 17 nominations, congratulated all and said she was looking forward to meeting more "exceptional" young citizens next year.