A TEENAGER is gearing up to take part in the finals of a national beauty contest.

Stephanie Wyatt will be taking part in the grand finals of the Miss Earth England competition on Saturday, 22 June in Birmingham.

The 19-year-old has made it through to the finals and if she is successful in Birmingham, the next stop will be the Philippines, representing England on the world stage.

The competition is designed to raise awareness of environmental campaigns, including making personal appearances to raise awareness of the ‘three R’s’ (reduce, reuse, recycle) and other environmental campaigns.

The Highclere resident will be voluntarily taking part in activities with an environmental twist, such as beach cleans and campaigning for and supporting Beauties For A Cause.

Stephanie said: “I have been an ethical advocate for many years now, with my beliefs stemming from my childhood.

“Two years ago I was fortunate enough to set up my own project where we recycle clothing which is donated from our local community and make them into recyclable sanitary wear for the girls of Kenya. I wanted to bridge the diversity gap between male and females in schools, but with an ethical outlook too.

“The Miss Earth England platform will help me to launch my other projects that I have in line.”

The Miss Earth pageant, organised by Carousel Productions, is an international environmental event challenging the beauty pageant entertainment industry as an effective tool to promote environmental awareness.

The competition winner will become an ambassador for environmental campaigns worldwide to add to the focus on supporting a cleaner environment.

Stephanie has already seen success in several beauty competitions, being crowned Miss Hampshire in 2018, to add to her title of Miss Dorset before that.