Some of the borough’s best and brightest teenagers were recognised at an awards ceremony in Parliament last night.

More than 20 teenagers and people in their early twenties received certificates at the event organised by Positive Youth News Haringey (PYNH).

The event was part of PYNH’s Pythons project which celebrates “positive youth thriving in Haringey obtaining notable success”.

Some of the teenagers who were recognised had created and published their own cookbooks, started their own businesses and worked to tackle knife crime in their community.

One of the stars of the evening was eight-year-old Joshua Beckford, from Tottenham, who at the age of six became the youngest person to study at the University of Oxford.

Another star was Shayan Moftizadeh, from Tottenham, who since finishing at Park View school has gone on achieve a degree and masters from the University of Cambridge.

Winners and their families were hosted by the MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, in the Jubilee Room in the Houses of Parliament.

Mr Lammy, who gave out the awards, said: “Even before the summer of 2011 we were not doing enough to celebrate our young people.

“It is just so easy to write what is negative about young people but the truth is the overwhelming majority of young people are doing great things.”

He added: “It is really important that we take the time to celebrate all that these young people have achieved, both on behalf of ourselves and the community we represent.

London Assembly member Joanne McCartney, Councillor Joe Goldberg, Borough Commander Victor Olisa and the headteacher of Highgate Wood School, Patrick Cozier, also gave speeches at the event.