St Albans teen beauty queen representing England in national pageant

A TEENAGE fundraiser from a secondary school in St Albans is hoping to impress at the Miss Commonwealth International Beauty Pageant in London. 17-year-old Tove Pearce, a pupil at Townsend Secondary School, was crowned Miss Charity at the Miss Hertfordshi

A TEENAGE fundraiser from a secondary school in St Albans is hoping to impress at the Miss Commonwealth International Beauty Pageant in London.

17-year-old Tove Pearce, a pupil at Townsend Secondary School, was crowned Miss Charity at the Miss Hertfordshire competition in May and, as a result, she was selected to represent England in next month's international pageant.

Tove, who was awarded the title of Miss Charity after having raised �750 for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, will climb Snowdon in Wales on Sunday (20) to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, the pageant's official charity.

Tove, who lives in Borehamwood, said that she was looking forward to the challenge: "I've never climbed Snowdon before but I think I'm fit enough to do it and my parents, Birgitta and Gerry, will be there for support. I need to raise as much money as I can to be in with a chance of winning the Miss Teen Commonwealth crown."

Tove, who will be competing against up to 50 other teenage girls from around the world at the competition on October 24, said that she was both apprehensive and excited about the Miss Commonwealth International Beauty Pageant.

She added: "Although I'm very nervous about being up on stage, I'm really looking forward to getting dressed up and meeting the other girls. Hopefully I'll have raised enough money by then to impress the judges."

To help Tove reach her �1,000 fundraising target, you can sponsor her online at www.justgiving.com/tove-pearce