{"id":1446360,"date":"2025-08-08T17:16:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T16:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/?p=1446360"},"modified":"2025-08-08T17:16:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T16:16:24","slug":"here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Here all the winners from the Just Like Us 2025 Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Just Like Us Awards returned to Central London on Thursday 7 August, celebrating exceptional contributions to LGBTQIA+ inclusion in schools.<\/p>\n

The annual gathering brought together charity staff, ambassadors and special guests to honour the teachers and young advocates helping to shape a more inclusive and equitable future for queer youth.<\/p>\n

Founded in 2016, Just Like Us has partnered with thousands of primary and secondary schools, as well as colleges across the UK, to champion and support LGBTQIA+ young people.<\/p>\n

Its flagship initiative, School Diversity Week, is a nationwide celebration of queer inclusion that sees thousands of schools take part in talks, assemblies and activities each year.<\/p>\n

At the heart of the campaign is the Ambassador Programme, which trains LGBTQIA+ young adults aged 18\u201325 to share their personal stories and speak about allyship. These ambassadors visit classrooms, answer questions and spark conversations that foster understanding and acceptance among students.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s intimate ceremony featured eight awards: Rising Star, Community Champion, Hero of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, School Talks Champion, Mentor of the Year and Ambassador of the Year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Married at First Sight<\/em> star and trans activist Ella Morgan<\/strong> presented the Community Champion Award<\/strong> to Liv Hennessey<\/strong>, recognised for co-running a webinar during LGBTQIA+ History Month and founding Queer Midlands \u2013 \u201ca community of Midlands-based ambassadors and organised meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n

In what Morgan dubbed a \u201cdouble shantay\u201d moment, the honour was also given to Lav Breen<\/strong>, described as \u201ca pillar for this community and a ray of sunshine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morgan later presented Hero of the Year<\/strong> to Jack Littlefair<\/strong>, praising his readiness to \u201cjump in or step up to the plate\u201d and adding: \u201cWithout ambassadors like Jack, our mission would be even more challenging and fewer stories would be heard. We are so grateful to him for his commitment, kindness and willingness to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Also serving as guest host was actor, comedian and writer Harry Trevaldwyn<\/strong>, known for Ten Percent<\/em> (2022), The Outlaws<\/em>, The Acolyte<\/em> (2024), and recent films How to Train Your Garden<\/em> and My Oxford Year.<\/em><\/p>\n

Trevaldwyn awarded Volunteer of the Year<\/strong> to Scout Dragon<\/strong>, a \u201cpowerhouse\u201d who has represented Just Like Us at Freshers\u2019 Fairs and NEU conferences, delivered 17 school talks to thousands of pupils this year and written for Gay Times.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rhys Beyan<\/strong> and Lucas Heyburn-Sheerin<\/strong> were jointly named School Talks Champion<\/strong> for their dedication to sharing their LGBTQIA+ identities with pupils, answering questions and inspiring students to become active allies.<\/p>\n

Rising Star<\/strong> went to Phoebe Constantine<\/strong>, who in the past academic year alone delivered 19 school talks, took part in a Garnier photoshoot, a Deloitte panel and Student Pride, and represented the charity in three live media interviews in a single day \u2013 a Just Like Us record.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Vicky Thorburn<\/strong> was honoured as Mentor of the Year<\/strong> with a heartfelt tribute from ambassador Nimah McClean<\/strong>, while CEO Laura Mackay<\/strong> presented Ambassador of the Year<\/strong> to Bronwyn Riani.<\/strong><\/p>\n

See the full list of winners below.<\/p>\n

Rising Star<\/strong>
\nPhoebe Constantine<\/em><\/p>\n

Community Champion<\/strong>
\nLiv Hennessey and Lav Breen<\/em><\/p>\n

Hero of the Year<\/strong>
\nJack Littlefair<\/em><\/p>\n

Volunteer of the Year<\/strong>
\nScout Dragon<\/em><\/p>\n

School Talks Champion<\/strong>
\nRhys Bevan and Lucas Heyburn-Sheerin<\/em><\/p>\n

Mentor of the Year<\/strong>
\nVicky Thorburn<\/em><\/p>\n

Ambassador of the Year<\/strong>
\nBronwyn Riani<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Just Like Us trains volunteer ambassadors throughout the year. If you\u2019re LGBTQIA+ and 18 to 25, sign up now<\/a> to hear about the next training event near you.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Just Like Us Awards returned to Central London on Thursday 7 August, celebrating exceptional contributions to LGBTQIA+ inclusion in schools. The annual gathering brought together charity staff, ambassadors and\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1168,"featured_media":1446393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21108],"tags":[2119,16824],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHere all the winners from the 2025 Just Like Us Awards<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Just Like Us Awards returned on Thursday 7 August, celebrating exceptional contributions to LGBTQIA+ inclusion in schools.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Here all the winners from the 2025 Just Like Us Awards\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Just Like Us Awards returned on Thursday 7 August, celebrating exceptional contributions to LGBTQIA+ inclusion in schools.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GAY TIMES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gaytimes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-08T16:16:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/just-like-us-awards-2025.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"695\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"436\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sam Damshenas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@samdamshenas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gaytimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sam Damshenas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sam Damshenas\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/person\/26c9cf714baced5dc8d01904295f787c\"},\"headline\":\"Here all the winners from the Just Like Us 2025 Awards\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-08T16:16:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-08T16:16:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/\"},\"wordCount\":561,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Just Like Us\",\"Just Like Us Awards\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/\",\"name\":\"Here all the winners from the 2025 Just Like Us Awards\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-08T16:16:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-08T16:16:24+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Just Like Us Awards returned on Thursday 7 August, celebrating exceptional contributions to LGBTQIA+ inclusion in schools.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Here all the winners from the Just Like Us 2025 Awards\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/\",\"name\":\"GAY TIMES\",\"description\":\"Amplifying queer voices.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"GAY TIMES\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cd-gaytimes.j.layershift.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GT_ICON_ILLUSTRATOR_BLACK_RGB-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cd-gaytimes.j.layershift.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GT_ICON_ILLUSTRATOR_BLACK_RGB-1.png\",\"width\":11710,\"height\":11710,\"caption\":\"GAY TIMES\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gaytimes\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gaytimes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gaytimes\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/gaytimes\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.co.uk\/gaytimesmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/GayTimesChannel\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gay_Times\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/person\/26c9cf714baced5dc8d01904295f787c\",\"name\":\"Sam Damshenas\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7743490aea9fb232439a8166d15b1a39?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7743490aea9fb232439a8166d15b1a39?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sam Damshenas\"},\"description\":\"sam@gaytimes.co.uk\",\"sameAs\":[\"samdamshenas\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/samdamshenas\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/author\/sam-damshenas\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Here all the winners from the 2025 Just Like Us Awards","description":"The Just Like Us Awards returned on Thursday 7 August, celebrating exceptional contributions to LGBTQIA+ inclusion in schools.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Here all the winners from the 2025 Just Like Us Awards","og_description":"The Just Like Us Awards returned on Thursday 7 August, celebrating exceptional contributions to LGBTQIA+ inclusion in schools.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/","og_site_name":"GAY TIMES","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gaytimes","article_published_time":"2025-08-08T16:16:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":695,"height":436,"url":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/just-like-us-awards-2025.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sam Damshenas","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@samdamshenas","twitter_site":"@gaytimes","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sam Damshenas","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/"},"author":{"name":"Sam Damshenas","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/person\/26c9cf714baced5dc8d01904295f787c"},"headline":"Here all the winners from the Just Like Us 2025 Awards","datePublished":"2025-08-08T16:16:24+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-08T16:16:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/"},"wordCount":561,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["Just Like Us","Just Like Us Awards"],"articleSection":["Community"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/","name":"Here all the winners from the 2025 Just Like Us Awards","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-08-08T16:16:24+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-08T16:16:24+00:00","description":"The Just Like Us Awards returned on Thursday 7 August, celebrating exceptional contributions to LGBTQIA+ inclusion in schools.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/community\/here-all-the-winners-from-the-just-like-us-2025-awards\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Here all the winners from the Just Like Us 2025 Awards"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/","name":"GAY TIMES","description":"Amplifying queer voices.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#organization","name":"GAY TIMES","url":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cd-gaytimes.j.layershift.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GT_ICON_ILLUSTRATOR_BLACK_RGB-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cd-gaytimes.j.layershift.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/GT_ICON_ILLUSTRATOR_BLACK_RGB-1.png","width":11710,"height":11710,"caption":"GAY TIMES"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gaytimes","https:\/\/twitter.com\/gaytimes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gaytimes\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/gaytimes","https:\/\/www.pinterest.co.uk\/gaytimesmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/GayTimesChannel","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gay_Times"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/person\/26c9cf714baced5dc8d01904295f787c","name":"Sam Damshenas","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7743490aea9fb232439a8166d15b1a39?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7743490aea9fb232439a8166d15b1a39?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sam Damshenas"},"description":"sam@gaytimes.co.uk","sameAs":["samdamshenas","https:\/\/twitter.com\/samdamshenas"],"url":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/author\/sam-damshenas\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1446360"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1446360"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1446360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1446397,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1446360\/revisions\/1446397"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1446393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1446360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1446360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1446360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}