THE nominees for the prestigious What's On Junior Awards have been announced - and Jeanie Franks, a teacher from Sale, is among them.

This awards programme celebrates the UK's best activities, classes, people and places for children, as nominated and voted for by parents, carers and parents-to-be.

Jeanie, who runs a multilingual class for children and their parents called Babel Babies, is one of just 50 activity leaders across the West of England and Wales to be nominated in the category for ‘Most Outstanding Activity Leader for the Under 5s’ and will now go through to the national voting stage.

Babel Babies classes have also been nominated as ‘Best Local Activity for Under 5s’ and ‘Best New Activity for Children’.

The winners will be announced at a live awards ceremony on June 23 – and Jeanie is hoping that Trafford will get behind her and vote to help her win!

Voting is open now until May 11 at www.whatson4littleones.co.uk. Everyone who votes will also be in with a chance to win 2 VIP tickets to attend the awards ceremony and reception and meet the winners, finalists, sponsors and VIPs.

“I started running Babel Babies classes in Manchester and Cheshire six months ago so I’m absolutely thrilled to have been nominated. It would mean the world to me to make it to the awards ceremony and to win would be incredible!”.

Jeanie runs Babel Babies classes in Altrincham, Chorlton and Didsbury, and is just about to launch a new class at Fiona Gardens in Sale.

Jeanie thinks the success of the classes is a lot to do with getting parents involved: “The classes are great fun and because parents are learning alongside their children, everyone gets something out of it so it’s something they want to keep coming back to week after week.”