A fifteen-year-old has been elected as the Lewisham Young Mayor in a vote that had the highest turnout to date.

Jentai Gen-One, a student at the BRIT school in Croydon, was chosen with a total of 1,682 votes in the election.

Students from schools and colleges across Lewisham have cast 9,988 votes for the 24 candidates of the Young Mayor elections on February 8. The number represents the highest turnout in the Young Mayor elections since 2004, with 58% of students participating.

Jentai Gen-One, the new Young Mayor of Lewisham, said:

“Thank you to everyone who supported me and everyone who supported, shared and screenshotted my campaign. I am looking forward to serving my community and all the borough’s young people”.

As the Young Mayor, Jentai Gen-One will support and inform the mayor on issues relating to young people with access to school councils, forums and networks.

Llywella-Paige Hoban, a student at Bonus Pastor Catholic College, has been elected as Deputy Young Mayor after receiving the second-highest number with 1,444 votes.

Bonus Pastor Catholic College responded on Twitter:

Damien Egan, Mayor of Lewisham, said: “I’m really looking forward to working with Jentai and Llywella-Paige – they’ve done so well to be the top two of 24 candidates. I’d also like to say a big thank you to our outgoing Young Mayor Rosanna Campbell and Deputy Young Mayor Olivia Mardling, who have been fantastic ambassadors for the borough”.