Apprenticeship Awards 2025

Last week on 29 January 2026, we held our annual Apprenticeship Awards to celebrate the efforts and achievements over the last year of our Apprentices, Advisors, Tutors and local Employers.

This year marked our highest turn out of both nominees and their friends and family, with over 100 guests attending on the evening. The night started with canapés and drinks from our Hospitality & Catering students before our guests took their seats in The Hexagon Student & Learning Centre for the awards ceremony.

Our hosts for the evening were Marketing Assistant, Grace Parker and Training & Development Lead, Daniel Waterhouse.

We started with a look back to see what last year's Rising Star of the Year 2024 had to say about her Apprenticeship, before moving onto the first award, Rising Star Award 2025. The winner of this award was Ava Coulthurst with nominees including Isaac Mitchell, Scarlett Wren and Lexlee Doherty.

The next award of the evening was the Outstanding Newcomer Award 2025. The Winner of this award was Emily Holmes with nominees including Tai Gilder, Oskar Skotarski and Millie Burrow.

The next award of the evening was the Outstanding Achievement Award 2025. The Winner of this award was Isabelle Skelcher with nominees including Annabelle Cody and Katie Pratt.

The fourth award of the evening was the Sustainability Champion of 2025. This was awarded to Zoe Grime from HBI Design Plus and was presented by our Governor, Jayne Taylor.

The fifth award of the evening was Progress in Maths Award 2025. The winner of the award was Milo Mason-Moore who unfortunately couldn't attend the awards evening but we will make sure they receive their award.

The sixth award of the evening was the Progress in English Award 2025. The winner of this award was Leon Seward who unfortunately couldn't attend the awards evening but we will make sure they receive their award.

The seventh award of the evening was the Staff Special Recognition Award 2025 presented by Lee Lawson from Lancaster Training Services LTD and one of our Governors. The winner of this award was Clare Chambers with nominees including Kaitlyn Nicholson, Derek Bothwick and Alicia Lewis.

The eighth award of the evening was the Employer of the Year Award 2025 which was presented by Graham from Lancaster & Morecambe District Chamber of Commerce. We also heard from last years winner, Standfast and Barracks, on their continued working relationship with the College. The winner of this award was HBI Design Plus, with nominees including Warren Contracting Services (NW) Ltd and Strongdor Ltd.

The ninth award of the evening was the Intermediate Apprentice of the Year Award 2025. The winner of this award was Molly Preston, with nominees including Presley Meier, James Sedgwick and Corey Fairgrieve.

The tenth award of the evening was the Advanced Apprentice of the Year Award 2025. The winner of this award was Sonny Ashton-Fitch with nominees including Elizabeth Capper, Rob Audley and Joseph Smith.

The final award of the evening was the Higher Level Apprentice of the Year Award 2025. Before this we took a short break from apprenticeship awards to celebrate our Level 5 Graduates. The Level 5 learners were invited to their cap and gowning ceremony, presented by our Chair of Governors, Hilary Fordham.

The winner of this award was Mark Bruffell, with nominees including Jason Wilson and Sam Robson.

We want to say a huge thank you to everyone that attended from apprentices, to employers, to assessors, family members and friends and a huge congratulations to all nominees and winners of awards.

We would also like to say thank you to Woodcrest Garden Centre for decorating the evening with their lovely flowers and plants in bloom.

Please see below for more images that were taken on the night and if you want access to any others that were taken after the awards, please email marketing@lmc.ac.uk