A bricklayer from Warrington and a cabinet maker from Chichester proved to be golden for the UK as they were honoured as the best young tradesmen in the world. Twenty one-year-olds Ashley Terron and George Callow took top spots at the WorldSkills Leipzig 2013 closing ceremony. A visibly moved Ashley told FE Week just moments after learning of his success: “I’m so happy. I saw my mum and my dad when my gold was announced and they were going crazy. “I’ve lived WorldSkills for the past two years, but I wasn’t expecting to win anything. “It means everything to me. It will change my life – I’m the world’s best young bricklayer now.” George, who also scored highest among Team UK to claim the best in nation award, said: “I knew I’d done well in the tasks, but thought there was really little in it. “I tried my best, but when I saw other countries winning golds I thought ‘maybe it’s not our year’. “But I’m ecstatic. All the hard work I’ve put in has paid off.” A silver medal added to Team UK’s awards haul thanks to the stonemasonry efforts of Somerset 21-year-old Robert Broomsgrove. Three bronzes came Team UK’s way, too, courtesy of 22-year-olds Matthew Quinn, from Northern Ireland, in autobody repair; Benjamin Tullett, from Hampshire, in aircraft maintenance; and, Matthew Crane, from Bristol, in electrical installations. Prime Minister David Cameron said: “British ambition and ingenuity has once again taken on and beaten the best in the world and I extend my congratulations to Team UK. “As we compete in the global race, this government is on the side of ambitious young people who want to work hard and get on and we will continue in our efforts to build the biggest and best apprenticeship programme.” There were also 17 medallions for excellence dished out among Team UK members who hit world class scores in their skill. Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Congratulations to Team UK who brought home six medals and 17 medallions for excellence. “They have demonstrated that when it comes to skills Britain has world class ability. “Vocational skills are important to the success of every business. That’s why in these difficult times I have prioritised apprenticeship funding, so that employers can access the country’s talent to help build a stronger economy.” Skills Minister Matthew Hancock said: “Congratulations to Team UK on their fantastic achievements at WorldSkills. “They have played a hugely important role in promoting the importance and value of vocational skills and practical learning to young people, their parents and employers.” Team UK Medals Skill Name Medal Bricklaying Ashley Terron Gold Cabinet making George Callow Gold Stonemasonry Robert Broomsgrove Silver Autobody repair Matthew Quinn Bronze Aircraft maintenance Benjamin Tullett Bronze Electrical installations Matthew Crane Bronze Beauty therapy Katie Wright Medallion For Excellence Confectioner / Pastry chef Stephen Smith Medallion For Excellence Cooking Louisa May Matthews Medallion For Excellence Car painting Gary Greer Medallion For Excellence Refrigeration and airconditioning Stephen Burge Medallion For Excellence IT network systems administration Nehmaan Ahmed Medallion For Excellence Manufacturing team challenege Daniel Gebhard, Andrew Maguire and George Moffat Medallion For Excellence Mechatronics David Cargill and James Overend Medallion For Excellence Mechanical engineering CAD Andrew Craig Medallion For Excellence Welding Alastair Wilson Medallion For Excellence Wall and floor tiling Mark Wood Medallion For Excellence Plumbing and heating Ashley Bainbridge Medallion For Excellence Plastering and dry wall systems Kenneth Wilson Medallion For Excellence Painting and decorating Kirk Croft Medallion For Excellence Joinery David Beattie Medallion For Excellence Floristry Chloe Woolf Medallion For Excellence Hairdressing Hannah Clague Medallion For Excellence
Julie 8 July 2013 Congratulations to Ashley and George. Well done you! It’s so good to see young people praised and rewarded – hope you’ll both be encouraged to continue.
Lesley Ellis 8 July 2013 Well done on your achievements; all that hard work and dedication paid off. Murray winning Wimbledon on Sunday and now this – it’s like the London Olympics all over again! Proud to be British!
AELP 8 July 2013 The Association of Employment and Learning Providers sends its congratulations to our 6 medal winners and 17 medallion winners at Leipzig. Well done to everyone in Team UK for their fantastic efforts!
John Lymn 8 July 2013 Well done Team UK on your fantastic achievements. You have all got much to be proud of.
Nicola Codd 8 July 2013 A great weekend to be British. The Lions, Murray and World Skills Gold. A fantastic result. Well done to the whole team from everyone at NCFE.
Steve Dale 8 July 2013 Well done from all at Colchester to all 23 representatives and especially Ashley and George, what a great achievement. You should all feel very proud.
Charlotte Russell 8 July 2013 Very well done to Team UK, what a fantastic achievement. You are all great examples of the fantastic young people in the UK and should be extremely proud.
Oliver 8 July 2013 Congratulations to all of Team UK especially the 6 medal winners. From everybody at the Skills for Careers group of apprenticeship academies.
Paul Morris 8 July 2013 Fantastic achievements from the whole UK team! Congratulations from all at South & City College Birmingham, we are all very proud of you.
Phil Hyde 8 July 2013 Congrats to Ashley and George – now they know how Andy Murray feels! Well done to FE Week as well for proving again that the paper is at the heart of what’s going on – in two years it really has become the must-read document in the sector. All the best, Phil
Adele Oxberry 8 July 2013 Congratulations team UK. An excellent result and makes us all so proud of you all 🙂
HKoon 8 July 2013 Great achievement for team UK, well done to all the young people. Lessons to learn from other countries and we can set our goals for even greater successes in the next round.
First4Skills 8 July 2013 Congratulations Team UK and all the medal winners, especially to Ashley and George – enjoy the moment and all the celebrations. From all of us at First4Skills.
NReinis 8 July 2013 Huge congrats to those who won medals and also to all those who made up Team UK. You’ve done the sector proud!
Rob Gray 8 July 2013 Well done to all the medal winners, however particular mention of Bronze medal winner: Matthew Quinn, autobody repair, and medal of excellence winner: Gary Greer, car painting! This shows the high standard of automotive learners in vocational education!
Rebecca Cooney 8 July 2013 Well done team UK! Gold, silvers and medals of excellence – all fantastic achievements
George Trow 8 July 2013 I am really proud to celebrate the success of our team. Well done to all of the competitors and congratulations to the team behind the scenes who have supported and trained them. What a strong result. Proud.
Bhairavi Tarkas 8 July 2013 Well done team UK. We can scale ladder of success from 2 to the 10 gold next year. We have 17 Medallion for Excellence, to progress to gold and silver a little more clever input and skills training. A challenge for skills training UK mentors. We can do it. Keep it up.
Apprenticeships Life 8 July 2013 Fantastic, awesome achievement. Really proud to be in the industry today, with such amazing, dedicated candidates. A heartfelt congratulations from all in apprenticeships Life. Bravo guys and gals, bravo!
Steve Ingle 8 July 2013 A super achievement for all involved. What stuck me was the list of vocational subjects in this list of achievement. This really is so important in raising the status and importance of vocational education, vocational learners and the dedicated dual professionals who work with them. Well done Team UK!
Fiona Barclay 8 July 2013 Great results Team UK, it has been a good weekend for the UK. All involved, celebrate your success 🙂