UK's top vocational stars announced at 'Oscar' style ceremony

UK's top vocational stars announced at 'Oscar' style ceremony

The City & Guilds top vocational awards for 2005 were presented at a sumptuous gala dinner held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London last night.

A capacity audience of over 520 people attended this year's prestigious UK Awards to celebrate the country's eight leading stars. The event also included an address by famous gardener, broadcaster and author Alan Titchmarsh.

Among the winners was 62-year-old lecturer Graham Medley. Awarded the Innovator of the Year prize, Graham and his students built a miniature model of a Linear Accelerator (LINAC) - the most common type of radiation machine - with moving parts, lights and buzzers to help alleviate the fears of young cancer patients. He and his students also restored an old, treadle driven metalwork lathe that was donated to Gambia where it is still in use.

He was joined by Rebecca Basford, winner of FE Sector Learner of the Year. The 20-year-old student became interested in hairdressing while working as a beauty therapist. Since embarking on her hairdressing career, Rebecca has won the UK Hairdressing Student of the Year for two years running in 2003 and 2004, reached the finals of the Pantene Pro-V Awards in 2003, and worked alongside celebrity hairdresser Errol Douglas on a photo-shoot for Hairdressers Journal.

Another winner from the evening was Anwar Badrie. New to England and its culture, the 26-year-old from Kurdistan , Iraq , overcame the hurdles of the English language to win Outstanding Achiever of the Year. The high-flier passed all three vocational levels in IT in just two years and intends to acquire a National Diploma in Multimedia before going on to university.

Presented by Alan Titchmarsh, the awards recognise talented people who have displayed exceptional standards and whose work and ability stands out from the crowd. "All of these incredible people have either carried on with their studies or helped others reach their true potential, overcoming all manner of difficulties to triumph in their crafts. I would like to congratulate each and every one of them and wish them every success for the future," said Alan.

Each year, City & Guilds selects around 100 of its 750,000 eligible candidates to win Medals for Excellence. UK Awards are presented to the very best of these winners who have gone the extra mile to complete their qualification.

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Notes to editors :

City & Guilds (http://www.city-and-guilds.co.uk) is the UK 's leading awarding body for work-related qualifications. Established in 1878 it was awarded Royal Charter status in 1900. In total the organisation awards 1.2 million certificates to learners each year on over 500 subjects ranging from creative studies to catering, management skills to manufacturing.

City & Guilds awards over 1 million certificates every year and offers 500 qualifications in 22 occupational sectors in over 100 countries worldwide.