NEW College Lanarkshire has retained its title as the best UK institution for skills provision after topping the medal leaderboard at a national ‘skills Olympics’ competition.
Students from the Motherwell, Coatbridge and Cumbernauld campuses won 15 accolades in total at WorldSkills UK – three golds, three silvers, three bronzes and six highly commended awards.
The haul meant the college has been the top performing institution in the competition since 2013.
More than 400 apprentices and learners competed in the national finals – which took place at 21 venues across the UK – in an effort to be recognised as the best in their field.
24 finalists representing New College Lanarkshire (NCL) competed across seven categories. NCL students swept the board in the Digital Construction competition, with Paul Hudson claiming the gold medal, Taylor Williamson achieving silver and Pawel Kudosz earning bronze. Three NCL students – Connor Bradley, Lorraine Tollan and Piotr Zagajewski – were also highly commended in this category.
In Mechanical Engineering: CAD, the gold medal was won by Clark McGeechan, while Imogen Wright was highly commended.
The winners were announced by TV presenter Steph McGovern in an event live-streamed from her Packed Lunch studio.
Professor Christopher Moore, principal and CEO of New College Lanarkshire, said, “The outstanding successes of our students has meant that New College Lanarkshire has retained its position as the number one institution in the UK for skills, after we also came top in 2019 and the 2020 competition was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
:This is a fantastic achievement – a clear demonstration of the skill and dedication of our staff and the talents and hard work of our students. I wish each and every one of them my congratulations and very best wishes.”
