A teenager who has performed on stage and screen despite having Down Syndrome has been nominated for a top award.

Katie Matthews, a member of Bradford performing art school Stage 84, has been nominated in the Participation for Success category in the Bradford Young Citizens awards 2007.

Katie, 17, who has appeared in ITV's The Royal, has been with Stage 84 for seven years.

In that time she has taken lead roles, won first prizes at festivals, passed her Grade Five Trinity acting exam with merit and London Guildhall Board speech and drama exams.

She is now auditioning for a national film in London.

As a pupil at Beckfoot School, Bingley, Katie is also achieving her goals. She has passed eight GCSE's and has received an award for achievement in the face of adversity.

Valerie Jackson, founder and principle of Idle's Stage 84, nominated Katie.

She said: "She's achieved her personal goals, despite having Down Syndrome. She's quite a character and she inspires everyone else in the class, who enjoy working with her."

Katie's mum Tressa said: "I think it a major achievement for Katie, because she has done all this and been in a main stream school.

"What with her recent GCSE results, the award from school and now the audition in London it's like everything has come at once. I feel so proud of her."

Another Stage 84 member who has been nominated for an award is a boy who played a lead role in the 2005 film Lassie.

Jonathan Mason, nominated for the outstanding achievement award, was born with a rare heart condition and had a bypass operation aged just ten days.

Jonathan, a pupil at St Winefrede's Primary School, Wibsey, beat 400 boys to play Joe Carraclough, whose world falls apart when his father loses his job and sells the family's beloved dog, Lassie. The script is based on Menston author Eric Knight's 1938 novel Lassie Come Home.

The awards, which have been set up by Bradford Council in association with the Telegraph & Argus, will be presented at an Oscars-style ceremony at St George's Hall, Bradford, on Thursday, March 22.

The Council hope celebrities from the area will be presenting the awards.

The six categories are the Healthy Lifestyles Award, Tackling Bullying Award, Participation for Success, Active Citizenship Award, the Outstanding Achievement Award and the Enterprise and Aspiration Award.