YOUNG people in this country tend to get a bad press. Only recently a survey of how adults described youngsters found ‘feral’ was the word most used.

This newspaper has argued consistently that it is a lawless minority who give the majority of children a bad name.

Our pages frequently feature young people doing wonderful work and achieving exceptional things in their communities.

Today is no exception. Our story about 12-year-old Gerald Roseman is refreshing and remarkable.

Gerald is taking a year out of school to concentrate on running his business making and selling jewellery. Read that sentence again and then remind yourself that Gerald is 12.

The youngster has a scholarship to Malvern College but cannot take up his place until he is 13.

So instead he is planning to travel around Europe and expand his business, which has already sold about 40 pieces of hand-made jewellery.

It is an incredibly mature step for a boy not yet in his teens to be making.

Gerald obviously has tremendous support from his parents Caroline and Joe and so often that makes all the difference to children.

Encouragement, stability and interest are what youngsters need most as they head into the years that will help define them as people.

We take our hats off to the Rosemans. And we have a feeling today will not be the last time young Gerald features in the Worcester News.