Culcheth has every reason to be proud of Tayah McAllister, a six-year-old who has achieved something genuinely special while dealing with more than most adults would fancy tackling before breakfast.
Tayah, from Culcheth, lives with a serious lung disease that has shaped much of her young life. Regular hospital stays at Warrington and Alder Hey, daily medication, oxygen to help stabilise her condition, breathlessness, infections and sudden turns for the worse are all part of her reality. That is not a small mountain to climb, it is the whole Pennines with a rucksack full of bricks.
Because of her illness, Tayah often misses school and has never completed a full academic year. That is the sort of detail that should make everyone pause, because behind every cheerful photo and award certificate is a family juggling hospital appointments, uncertainty and the sort of worry nobody can neatly timetable.
But Tayah has not allowed her condition to be the only thing people know about her, and frankly, good for her. One of her biggest joys is attending the Pauline Quirke Academy for drama, where she trains alongside her siblings, Talia and Carter-Lee. The three of them clearly have the performing bug, and not in a half-hearted, village-hall-on-a-wet-Tuesday sort of way.
The siblings were part of the team behind The Show Must Go On, a short film that impressed audiences and judges at the Pauline Quirke Academy Film Festival in Sheffield. Earlier this month, they attended the festival and had the unforgettable moment of hearing their film announced as a winner.
That is a huge achievement for any child, never mind one who has spent so much of her life in and out of hospital. It is also a lovely bit of news for Culcheth, where we do enjoy a reason to be proud that does not involve arguing about traffic, potholes or whether anyone can park properly near the shops.
Tayah's mum, Rebecca, said: It's been an ongoing battle but Tayah is so brave.
She added: Finally seeing her experience things that other children her age do is a moment we'll never take for granted, it's a reminder of her strength and how far she's come. We're so proud of her and of all three of them for this amazing achievement.
Quite right too. Tayah, Talia and Carter-Lee have earned every bit of praise coming their way. The award is impressive, but the determination behind it is what really deserves the spotlight.