Teenager wins BT internet skill-sharing award

A young Scot has won an award for helping his mother set up and manage a website for the family business.

John Soutar, 15, from Lionel on the Isle of Lewis, is this year’s national winner in the 2008 BT Internet Ranger of the Year Awards.

Now in their fourth year, the awards recognise the efforts of young people who share their internet skills with others.

John won a notebook PC plus £250 in IT vouchers for helping his mum, Elspeth, start a new life on the Hebridean Island after she became a single parent.

He designed and built a website for the family business – two self-catering cottages for holiday-makers on the island – from which the entire family income had to be earned.

He spent hours teaching his mother how to manage the website as well as how to research, advertise and take bookings using the internet. His skills and talent have also had a wider impact on the local community – he has helped a local IT project by teaching both adults and children about the internet.

He said: "I have always been fascinated with computers and the internet and have taught myself how to design websites over the past few years.

"There's so much more for me to learn but it's fantastic to see how sharing the knowledge I have gathered has had a positive impact on my family and local community."

Five runners-up also won notebooks for the work they have done to help members of their family get to grips with the internet.