The Ward and Partners Children’s Awards, in their 12th year, recognise the achievements of children, their families and the charities that support them. Sophie Drogomirecki, 15, was a winner in the young carer’s category last year. Mary Louis caught up with her one year on.

Teenager Sophie Drogomirecki is busy insisting she is not exceptional when her father interrupts with evidence quite to the contrary.

Dad Chris said: “Sophie, you go to school, you do your homework, you keep up with your friends.

“At home, every day, you look after your mum and dad, you cook the dinner, you do the washing, the shopping, the cleaning, you help with paying the bills, you care for the animals. How many other children do that?”

Sophie, 15, and sister Becky, 17, have done this for years as a matter of course, even while they were both at primary school.

They take it in their stride.

Such dedicated round-the-clock care is so normal that Sophie was quite taken aback and initially thought it was a mistake when she received a call to say she had won a Ward and Partners Children’s Award in the young carer’s category.

Dad Chris has cauda equina syndrome, a serious neurological condition that renders him in severe, chronic pain.

It started when he went in to hospital.

He said: “I went into hospital carrying my rucksack, in discomfort but expecting to get better. I came out disabled.

“At first I could walk, then I could not and it got worse.”

Sophie was then just seven. The impacts on Chris and his family were profound.

The condition attacks the nerves in the spine and Chris, 43, is in severe, constant pain from his neck down to his waist.

From being an active young man with a gardening business he loved, he was left unable to work, largely immobile, mainly wheelchair-bound, on a cocktail of heavy medication.

The illness exacerbated his existing mental health issues, including a longstanding battle with depression.

Efforts looking after Chris and struggling to cope took a heavy toll, physically and mentally, on wife Sue.

She in turn was unwell and forced to depend on her children for care for herself and Chris, supported by outside carers who attend their home near Maidstone.

Chris said: “It has been horrendous, but I am very lucky because I have got these guys.

It is a massive responsibility for the girls, they put in so many hours and do an amazing job. They have no choice.”

Sophie is in Year 11 and studying for GCSEs at Valley Park School.

She hopes to become a police dog handler.

She describes herself as “a nerd” because of her passion for super heroes and all things Marvel. She loves reading, clothes and plays the flute.

With her Ward’s prize money, Sophie bought clothes, bedroom furniture, a laptop, games console and books.

A mainstay for both Sophie and Becky, and their parents, has been the vital support and respite provided by the lifeline for young carers at Crossroads Care West Kent.

It has given the girls much carefree fun on days out and holidays away.

Crossroads’ Jan Hill nominated Sophie for her award, describing the teenager as “an exceptional carer and friend”.

She wrote: “Sophie has a very mature outlook on life and is able to empathise with others in a way that really epitomises her caring nature.

“She works really hard to balance her responsibilities at home, her friendships and her studies. She manages to give 110% in everything she does and expects nothing in return.”

For more information on the categories in this year's awards and to make a nomination, clickhere.