A young carer with a dream of being an aeronautical engineer has spoken of how being recognised with an award for academic achievement is helping him on the path to fulfil his life's ambition.

Saul Watson, who is now 18 and lives at Costessey, near Norwich, won the education category at the 2011 Bernard Matthews Youth Awards, and was one of a number of young people honoured for achieving great things in a special award ceremony.

Now the 2012 awards, in association with the Eastern Daily Press, are looking for a new set of young stars aged 11 to 18 to recognise for their inspiring achievements in categories including food champion, young farmer, bravery, education, community, charity, sport, cultural and environment.

The winner of each category will receive �1,000 and there will also be a special winner of winners award.

Saul, an Ormiston Victory Academy student, was given the 2011 education award for achieving good academic results, including GCSEs, while also being a young carer for his mother Linda for the past decade after she suffered from a stroke.

Saul, who hopes to study aeronautical engineering at university, is on call to help his mother 24 hours a day while also now studying for A-levels in design and technology, applied science and maths, and juggling a part-time job as a sales assistant.

At home he does lots of housework, cooking, and any lifting needed while his father David is at work.

Saul said he thought it was good how the awards recognise the achievements of young people.

He said of winning the 2011 educational achievement award: 'I thought some of the other people at the awards were equally deserving, and I just see what I do as normal, but I was really happy to be recognised with the award.'

He has used some of his �1,000 prize to pay for private maths lessons for his A-level to help him on the road to fulfilling his career aspirations.

'Being an aeronautical engineer is my life ambition. I have always been interested in planes and how they are developed and that is why I want to have a career with planes,' he said.

The awards are also supported by Open, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and The Garage.

The EDP will catch up with all the winners of the 2011 Bernard Matthews Youth Awards over the next few weeks. To see the youth awards stories online as they are published visit www.edp24.co.uk

For more information on the Bernard Matthews Youth Awards visit www.bmyouthawards.com

How to enter the awards:

All nine awards are open to both individuals and groups, and people can either enter themselves or nominate others.

Entrants must be aged 11 to 18 and live in Norfolk or Suffolk. Entries should show the entrant's achievements and why they are exceptional.

If nominating somebody else you must have their permission and, if under 18, the permission of their parent or guardian. You can enter by filling out a form at www.bmyouthawards.com, uploading a video on the youth awards website or downloading a form from the website and sending it to Bernard Matthews Youth Awards, c/o Shorthose Russell Ltd, 12 Meridian Way, Meridian Business Park, Norwich, NR7 0TA.

Video entries must be no bigger than 10MB and no longer than three minutes.

The closing date for entries is July 20, 2012. Shortlisted entrants will be invited to an awards evening on Tuesday, October 30 when winners will be revealed.

For more information visit the website, follow the awards on Twitter at @BMYouthAwards or telephone 01603 706566.