A teenager has won a scholarship with insurance and reinsurance firm XL Catlin against stiff competition.

Kyrsten Burrows, 18, beat off nearly 30 other candidates for the prestigious four-year scholarship, open to students embarking on a degree in an insurance/reinsurance-related subject.

Carol Parker-Trott, acting chairman of the XL Catlin scholarship committee, said: “As a committee, every year we are fortunate to meet so many high-calibre young people.

“Selecting a winner from the impressive list of applicants is always difficult.

“We selected Kyrsten based on his exceptional academic achievements, leadership abilities and level of maturity.

“We believe that he will not only do well at university but will make significant contributions to our industry, our island and beyond.”

Mr Burrows, who was deputy head boy at the Berkeley Institute in Pembroke, is scheduled to start a BSc degree in applied mathematics with a major in actuarial science.

He completed the graduate requirements of the school in 2015, a year ahead of his intake and finished top of his year at school for four years running.

He is due to graduate from the school next week and is also the first male student to complete an Associate’s degree in Arts and Science through the Bermuda College dual enrolment programme before getting his high school diploma.

Mr Burrows has won other awards, including the 2016 Outstanding Teen in Academic Achievement, a physics award and principal’s honours for four consecutive years.

In addition, he won the 2015 Dr Earl Seaton Memorial Award at Bermuda College for academic achievement and the 2015 Dr Clifford Maxwell Memorial Award for mathematics.

He also founded Project Pangaea, a tutoring programme students at Berkeley and other schools who struggle with mathematics.

Mr Burrows is also active in the wider community, taking part in local camps as a counsellor and travelling abroad with the Word of Life missionary service to impoverished areas of Trinidad and Honduras, as well doing mixed martial arts, taking part in team triathlons and playing the guitar.