THE TOP 20 UNDER 20

How influential can a teenager be? How much power can you have while studying for your standard or higher grades? You would expect the answer to be, not much, but within Scotland there's scores of young people who are managing to have a meaningful impact on the adult world of sport, music, business, politics and the arts. Here, then, is fresh's completely unscientific list of the most influential teens in the land. They range from the obvious stars to the unsung heroes, but they are all united in possessing something special

1. ANDY MURRAY Who? The current British tennis number one.

Why so influential? He's made British tennis brattishly exciting again and is the rarest of things a genuine Scottish sporting superstar.

Andy is now so famous that the mere act of sacking his coach, a regular occurrence in the high-pressure sport, sent shockwaves through tennis. The 18-year-old has already won the US Open's junior title, charmed the Wimbledon faithful, verbally abused umpires and in just over a year has leapt from being ranked outside the world's top 400 to his current slot at 44. Such is the Dunblane star's influence he has managed to colonise the national institution that is Henman Hill and rename it Murray Mound. Need we go on?

2. NICOLA BENEDETTI Who? West Kilbride's finest violin-bothering export.

Why so influential? She won an Icon Of Scotland for being "an individual who symbolises Scotland's excellence in creativity, innovation and performance".

At age four she picked up her first violin. At eight, she was leading the National Children's Orchestra of Scotland. At 16, she won the BBC's prestigious Young Musician of the Year. Now aged 18, Nicola has just got started. One of the country's most visible teens, she played at the opening of the Scottish parliament, her debut album has been nominated for a Classical Brit, and she is an official Unicef ambassador. She has several more albums to record as part of her pounds-1m record deal, so don't hold your breath for a Charlotte Church-style crossover from classical into pop. Thank goodness.

3. AMAL AZZUDIN Who? The Glasgow Girl campaigning for refugee's rights Why influential? She's changed the law, you know When Amal's friend Agnessa was detained last year her life changed. Together with several other pupils from Drumchapel High School she formed The Glasgow Girls, a group of teenagers campaigning for refugee and asylum seekers rights. Agnessa was finally released, and the ordeal was captured in a BBC documentary, thrusting Amal into the spotlight. She hasn't stopped since. "Since then we've met Jack McConnell and we've been to the parliament twice, " says the 16- year-old.

"Recently an immigration officer came to our school and spoke to us. Now he said there was going to be an immigration officer just for Scotland. That's just because of us talking to him." Amal arrived from Somalia six years ago. She fled with her mum to escape the civil war. She fled with her mum to escape the civil war. Their initial application for residency was rejected, but last year it finally came through. She continues to campaign for greater acceptance of asylum seekers in Scotland. "We told Jack McConnell that these people have been here for a long time, " she says. "It was unfair for them to be forced to leave. They'd been intigrated into the community. They see this as their country. You ask them where they come from, they'll say Scotland. I say I'm from Scotland, not Somalia. This is my home."

4. HILARY LYNN Who? Meet your future prime minister.

Why so influential? She has the ear of the government.

Hilary is annoyed. "I hate the perception that young people aren't interested in politics, " says the 19-year-old. "I'm a teenager and I can say that they are." She was so annoyed by this stereotyping that she started a youth forum in her hometown of Ayr and joined the Scottish Youth Parliament four years ago. Hilary is now its secretary and chaired the judging panel at the recent Young Scot awards where she sat with Jack McConnell. Her aim in all this? To get young people's voices echoing through the corridors of power.

"The youth parliament wants to reach out to as many young people from as many backgrounds [as possible] and feed their views into the government, " she says. "You get fantastic opportunities to work with influential people." Other recent ventures for the energetic teenager include helping organise the World Youth Forum in Stirling last year ("Fantastic meeting with 500 young people from across the globe to debate international issues isn't something you get to do every day"), and tirelessly campaigning for the voting age to be lowered to 16. Oh, and as well as all this, she's doing a law degree at Stratchclyde University. Phew! So has she eyes on the First Minister's job? She laughs coyly before correcting, "Prime Minister! Who knows?"

5. KATIE LEUNG Who? Harry Potter's love interest.

Why so influential? She's set to feature in some of the biggest films of all time.

Katie Leung the person was born in Motherwell, but Katie Leung the star was made when JK Rowling decided to add a bit of romantic frisson to Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. When she auditioned for the part of Cho Chang, the girl of Harry's dreams, she had little acting experience. But she beat 3972 other hopefuls. Katie's reason? Her Scottish accent. She'll be back in the next film, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix.

6. PAUL DI RESTA Who? The country's greatest boy racer.

Why so influential? He's already turned the need for speed into a glittering career.

Paul was two when he first put the pedal to the metal. Now, 17 years after his dad gave him his first gokart, Paul is starting the new Formula 3 Euroseries in pole position.

The 19-year-old from Bathgate has already won numerous karting trophies (so spectacularly that the judges of Young Driver of the Year changed the rules to let the then 17-yearold Paul appear on the shortlist he won that too) and is following in the hallowed tyre- marks of Michael Schumacher.

Like the F1 legend, he hopes to use Formula 3 as a launch pad into Formula 1 in two years time. Start your engines . . .

7. JACK MCELHONE Who? Actor. Singer. Model. 12.

Why so influential? To quote style mag, i-D: "McElhone proves a revelation. The look, the stare, the knowing glance. The detached and dislocated own-world pre-occupation." Beat that.

Being on the cover of style mags probably ranks lower down Jack's CV. That boast has to contend with a TV series (Book Group), Bafta nomination (for Young Adam) and lead role in a major feature film (Dear Frankie).

Inspired by his dad, a member of pop band Texas, Jack also plays guitar and writes songs. Before he gets to writing his debut album, Jack will be next seen in the film Sanctuary, playing a boy separated from his parents during the second world war.

8. CALUM ELLIOT Who? Scottish football's next big thing.

Why so influential? Aged 18 and already leading the forward line in an impressive Hearts side.

(Full interview on page 20)

9. FRASER DOHERTY Who? The nation's favourite teenage entrepeneur Why so influential? Even Gordon Brown invites him round for tea Fraser knows a secret; a very profitable secret. "It's my gran's marmalade recipe that she's perfected over decades, " he says. "Only my gran and myself know it." It's a secret that has tickled the tastebuds as far afield as the Phillipines and Australia, rakes in pounds-7500 a month, and paved the way for Fraser to be invited for dinner at 10 Downing Street. Not bad for a business venture started in a narrow kitchen in Edinburgh with pounds-2, a few oranges and some sugar. "I started selling the marmalade it to the neighbours, " recalls the unassuming 17-year-old. "They really liked it and asked to buy more. And it expanded from there." With flavours as tantalising as kiwi, lime and chilli and stawberry and chilli dessert sauce, soon he was delivering to hundreds of houses a week, supplying shops, going to farmer's markets, and selling on line. He's in discussions with supermarkets and Channel 4 are making a documentary about him. So, what advice does he have: "There's no secret recepie to being successful.

You just have to play around with things and have a go.

Do something that you love. If I didn't love cooking, there's no way I'd get up at 6am to do a farmers market, or spend 18 hours a day cooking." www. jamshop. co. uk

10&11. FLORA AND ALEXANDER OGILVY Who? The Fife brother and sister in line to the throne Why so influential? If bird flu makes its way to Buckingham Palace we could be calling either of these two Your Majesty.

Alexander, 10, might be the youngest of the Ogilvy children but thanks to the male chauvinistic quirks of the monarchy he beats his sister in the race for the crown. Alexander is 34th in line to the throne, and 12-year-old Flora is 35th.

Their royal lineage comes from their father, James, the son of Princess Alexandra who is the Queen's cousin.

12. CARLY BOOTH Who? Scotland's 13-year-old golfing prodigy Why so influential? She's showing the boys how it's done.

Hawaiian teen Michelle Wie shook the stuffy world of golf last year by not just suggesting women could play with men, but daring to enter the same competitions. Stepping up to the tee behind her is Carly Booth. The Comrie schoolgirl plays off a plus one handicap and is ranked the best female golfer for her age in Europe, if not the world. Her dad was so impressed with his daughter's skills, he created a golf course in their back garden. She can be found there most evenings (even in the winter, thanks to floodlights) honing her game, unless she is trotting the globe at some tournament.

13. JESSICA ROWLING Who? JK's daughter.

Why so influential? The only teenager with access to the next Harry Potter novel.

Jessica is probably the most envied teenager on this list.

She will almost certainly be the first teenager to find out what happens to Harry in his final adventure, as her mum weaves her literary magic in their Perthshire home. That's enough to make millions of Muggles around the world green with envy.

14. CALUM MACLEOD Who? The Gael hitting the most English of games for six.

Why so influential? Toying with cricket's natural order.

There's no word for cricket in Gaelic. But then there's not many Gaels who play it either. However, Calum is changing all that. The 17-year-old from Glasgow, recently signed with top English side Warwickshire (the Liverpool of the country cricket world), and is moving down to Birmingham to show the English a thing or two about bowling. "I'm so excited, but it's daunting moving away when I'm 17, " he says. "But it's what I've always wanted to do." His dad, David, is the source of both his main points of pride. Hailing from Uist, David encouraged Calum to speak Gaelic as well as taking him to Drumpellier cricket club when he was six. After making his senior debut aged just 13 "The first few times was quite daunting, but when I stopped being scared at the prospect of bowling at men I took wickets quite quickly" and becoming a fixture in the national side at under-19 level, Warwickshire quickly signed him up. But moving to England won't dull his Gaelic pride. "It's a Scottish language so I'm proud to be able to speak it. I would encourage more young people to speak it. We should try and keep it alive."

15. NATASHA WATSON Who? The primary pupil acting with Hollywood stars.

Why so influential? She's the youngest-ever Bafta nominee.

After her debut film, Iota, the director Simon Dennis tipped Natasha for Hollywood. "When Natasha came in for her audition, everyone just stopped what they were doing.

There was a special X factor that you almost never find. It was blindingly obvious that she has a big future as an actress." For her portrayal of twins in Iota, for which the sixyear-old learned sign language, she received a Bafta nomination. Now flexing her thespian muscles on River City, she's finished shooting the film A Woman In Winter with X Men star Brian Cox. She says her ambition is to "sing and dance and act in Hollywood".

16. JOSIE VALLELY Who? Scotland's top teen environmentalist Why influential? She's keeping our beaches clean and the government in check If the Queen ever reads her mail, she'll be familiar with the name Josie Vallely. And her letters aren't fan mail. "I've written to her on two occasions about how she sets a bad example, " says Josie. She has scolded Her Maj on her support for clipping pedigree dogs tails amongst other things. "So I told her I didn't like that." Her local MP and Tony Blair have also been on the receiving end of some stinging missives from the 16-year-old.

Thankfully Josie, from Edinburgh, does more than just write letters to the great and the good. She is a tireless volunteer at Gorgie City Farm, she organises beach clean-ups, has housed delegations of refugees from Africa and Palestine ("They had crazy rituals for making tea taking over the entire kitchen, " she recalls), and has set up her own website to advise other teenagers on how to save the world. So why does she do it? "It makes you feel better, " she says. "It's good to improve your immediate environment. It's also important that we protect the entire world, as it's us who will have to look after the mess that's being made at the moment." Her campaigning has taken her to eating fish cakes with Bob Geldof at the Make Poverty History march and personally congratulating Jack McConnell on the smoking ban, to being awarded CosmoGIRL campaigner of the year. Her website, which was created in a bout of procrastination when she was supposed to be doing homework, has received hundreds of comments from around the world asking her advice on how they can be more green. She admits that the the sheer volume of posts scared her slightly, but that hasn't put her off. Josie firmly believes young people can make a difference - the key is to speak to people in power. "They definitely listen. People just don't realise, but that is their job - to listen to us. So they have no other choice."

www. freewebs. com/iwanttochangethewo rld123

17. JORDAN MAGUIRE Who? The new Ranulph Fiennes.

Why so influential? He's literally on top of the world.

Like the needle on a compass, 15-year-old Jordan has been drawn to the north pole for most of his life.

And by the time you read this, the Glasgow teenager should have trekked the final 111 miles, dragging an 80kg sledge, and made his way into the record books as the youngest boy ever to walk to the North Pole. "I guess I've always had a spirit of adventure, " he says, hours before he gets on the plane to fly to Norway. "The North Pole has been a fascination since I was six. I want to climb Everest and go to the South Pole as well." Jordan says because the North Pole is in international waters, no special permission is needed to go there, "Aside from my parents".

His only worry is the gaps in the ice where the sea comes up. "You have to swim across them in a dry suit, " he says.

"Polar bears and whales are known to hang around there.

That's the most dangerous part I'm not too sure about that." So far his trek has raised pounds-19,000 for the charity WellChild.

To donate visit www. justgiving. com/northpoleexpedition

18. ROBBIE RENWICK Who? The leading teenager in Scotland's swimming success in the Commonwealth games.

Why so influential? Already a medal-winner at just 17, he'll be taking on the world at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

(Read a full interview with Robbie in our swimming special on page 19)

19. ROBERT KING Who? A one-man writing machine.

Why so influential? The next king of the fantasy genre?

Living down a lonely, bumpy country lane in Tain is perfect for aspiring authors. It was here, tucked away from the local town that Robert furiously scribbled his debut novel, The Apple Of Doom. He began writing it in his final year at primary school, and it was published last year. "I couldn't believe it when I walked in to the publishers office and they said, 'We've read the first six chapters of your book and we would like to publish it'. I just gasped, " says the 15-year-old. The Apple Of Doom tells the tale of Gybes and his friends battling against evil forces in Greenworld. It fits snugly into the fantasy genre, one that Robert, a big Terry Pratchett fan, is very much at home with. "I've got a large imagination, " he says. "I've always liked making up names and places for myself. I love being able to create your own world that you have control over. You can shape the character's lives." Initially his parents wanted him to start writing short stories, but Robert was determined to write a novel. "I'd always started writing a book, but never got past the first few pages, " he recalls. "Then one day I started writing and kept going." Six months later, The Apple Of Doom had grown. Since its publication, Robert has appeared at festivals, been featured in the Independent newspaper, received fan mail from an 80-year-old woman, and had the BBC interview him at school, much to the amazement of his classmates. And this is just the start. He's currently working on the sequel, as he says: "So much stuff comes into my imagination, I have to put it down somewhere."

20. ROBERT SHIELDS Who? Scotland's newest singer-songwriter and record label mogul.

Why so influential? Chris Martin likes him.

For a singer-songwriter, Robert is remarkably well adjusted.

"It's disappointing that I'm not more of a tortured teen, I know, " he laughs. "Sometimes I wish I was." When Robert was five he started tinkering with an old tuneless piano in his family home in Castle Douglas. Now, 13 years later, the 18-year-old has decided against university, choosing a musical life instead. He has started his own record label, Black Ivory records, and released his own piano-heavy debut album, Skywriter. "I've been surprised by how well it's done, " he says. "The production's really good and the feedback this end has been great. Last month, the website had about 2000 hits." Skywriter is even circulating around some influential stereos in London, although Robert is very cagey about which ones. "There's a few irons in the fire, " he says. He's already won the influential Make It Or Break It award, judged by one of his heroes, Coldplay's Chris Martin and excitedly talks about his latest batch of tunes: "Like all songwriters, I think the last thing I wrote is the best yet." Keep an ear out for Robert, his name may be on your MP3 playlist in years to come.

www. robertshields. co. uk

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