Following a tense week of competitions, Southern Regional College has been named as the best performing College in the UK for the second consecutive year at the WorldSkills UK competition. The College topped the leaderboard in both points awarded and for the highest number of medals won.

SRC students competed across multiple venues in the Greater Manchester area, with results being announced on Friday evening in a glittering awards ceremony held at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, hosted by presenter Edith Bowman.

In a livestreamed ceremony, competitors from the College were revealed as winning the most medals, bringing home twelve medals in total; five gold, three silver and four bronze. Following these outstanding results, the College is able to lead with the title “Best in the UK” for the second consecutive year.

WorldSkills UK is a partnership between education providers, industry and the UK government to champion skill sets and raise industry standards. The competition celebrates the best of young talent and even provides young people with the opportunity to progress to European and WorldSkills competition series.

Students have been undertaking intense training for months prior to the event, taking on additional study and practice sessions under the guidance of the College’s committed lecturing staff. Their commitment and dedication to the competition has been rewarded with an amazing medal tally at this year’s competition. Students showcased their technical expertise and creative problem-solving skills, to excel in their chosen field.

Winning students and their employers include:

Name

Hometown

Competition

Medal

Employer

Rebecca Liggett

Dungannon

Laboratory Technician

Gold

Almac

Ross Graham

Banbridge

Automation

Gold

Regen Robotics

Mykenzie Cartmill

Armagh

Beauty Therapy Practitioner

Gold

Belle Beauty

Oisin McKerr

Lurgan

Automotive Refinishing

Gold

Porters Body Shop

Carter McKnight

Moira

Automation

Gold

Randox

Hannah Hillis

Poyntzpass, Newry

Health and Social Care

Silver

Conway Health Care (Brooklands Nursing home)

Sean Treanor

Tallavard, Co. Monaghan

Automation

Silver

Norbrook Laboratories

Neil King

Warrenpoint, Newry

Automation

Silver

Norbrook Laboratories

Annabelle Hughes

Loughgall, Armagh

Culinary Arts

Bronze

 Ghan House, Carlingford

John Doherty

Portadown

Mechatronics

Bronze

Concrete Batching Systems

Jason McVerry

Belleeks, Newry

Mechatronics

Bronze

Red Rock Machinery

Conor McDonnell

Armagh

Electrical Installation

Bronze

W. Nesbit Electrical

What an unbelievable performance by team SRC that follows months of hard work and dedication by the students and staff alike. I applaud students and staff for their commitment to excellence. Competing is a fantastic achievement for the students, but to see our team return home with 12 medals and be recognised at UK level for their skills and dedication is incredible. Well done to all involved.

Lindsay Bronte , Organisation Manager at Southern Regional College

I am thrilled to announce that Southern Regional College, for the second year running, has soared to the top of the WorldSkills UK leader board, both for the number of points achieved and for the number of medals achieved. This is a testament to the unparalleled dedication and exceptional talents of our students and staff. Through their relentless pursuit of excellence, Team SRC has not only secured the top spot but also earned the highest number of medals. This outstanding achievement reflects the transformative learning environment at Southern Regional College, where innovation, skills development, and teaching excellence converge to shape the employees, leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. As an entire college community, we take pride in this momentous accomplishment, celebrating the hard work and commitment of everyone who studies and works at Southern Regional College

Raymond Sloan , Principal & CEO of Southern Regional College

Following this tremendous success, the College is eagerly awaiting results from the SkillBuild competition running from Tuesday 21st to Thursday 22nd November in Milton Keynes.