A teenage cancer survivor who raised hundreds of thousands for other children suffering with the disease has been named as one of just 500 Coronation Champions in the UK.

Mikayla Beames, 16, from Childrey beat out thousands of nominees to be granted the prestigious honour before the Coronation of King Charles III.

The award recognises the work of her charity Team Mikayla which she set up following a brain tumour diagnosis aged just four.

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The charity grants wishes to other young people with cancer and has helped 250 children so far.

Mikayla, who is currently sitting her GCSEs at King Alfred’s Academy in Wantage, said she was in “complete shock” when she found out she had won.

She said: “Just a little charity like mine being recognised by amazing people. I was just amazed. I didn’t expect it at all. Just a little bit of recognition goes a long way.”

Mikayla received a celebratory pin and certificate signed by the King and Queen Consort Camilla, and will attend the Windsor Castle Coronation Concert on May 7.

She said: “I don’t do it for recognition. I do it to make children smile and have something to be happy about. That’s my main aim – to give a child a wish.

“It’s very close to me because I’m going through a similar sort of situation. It hits close to home.”

Mikayla, who lives with her mum Natasha, 42, dad Ian, 43, and four siblings, was first diagnosed aged four after her mum spotted something wrong with her eyesight.

Mrs Beames said: “Her eyesight wasn’t quite right and we were referred for an eye test at the John Radcliffe and they discovered they couldn’t see to the back of her eye.”

An MRI scan revealed there was a large mass brain tumour that took over half of young Mikayla’s head.

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Mikayla started chemotherapy, a treatment she has continued for large periods of the last 12 years and which she still undergoes today through ‘inhibitor drugs’.

Aged just six years old, she told her mum she wanted to help other children who were undergoing cancer treatment at the John Radcliffe.

Mrs Beames helped organise for a visit from Father Christmas to the ward, and the tradition continues to this day. Most recently, it was her eldest son Liam, 22, who wore the costume.

The charity soon started fundraising, through bucket collections and horse racing betting nights, and granted its first wish in 2011 for a young boy to visit Chessington World of Adventures Resort with his family.

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Since then, it has gone from strength to strength, with volunteers running London Marathons and taking part in other fundraising events.

Most recently, Mikayla skydived out of a plane for her 16th birthday.

She said: “It’s the smiles. They drive me to do more. The little difference that it makes to their day. It’s sad to think about. It could be their last wish.

“We sometimes get letters from the parents or the children saying how much of a difference it has made.

“You see the smiles on their face when they get an Easter egg or a Christmas present or something they have asked for.”