Download your free copy of the FE Week 24-page WorldSkills 2013 souvenir edition, sponsored by NCFE.

Click here to download (20mb)

Introduction

It seems nigh on impossible to truly replicate the highs and lows of WorldSkills Leipzig 2013 and Team UK’s journey to two golds.

From the grandeur of the opening ceremony and, before that, Team UK’s visit to a nearby German primary school, to the tense competition arenas and the nervous wait for results — there can be no substitute for having been there to experience it all.

So, for those who made it to Leipzig, this souvenir edition of FE Week will be a reminder of a treasured experience.

For those who weren’t there, it will be a faithful portrayal of the emotions, the tensions and the successes of WorldSkills 2013.

Around 1,000 young people, aged 18 to 25, from across the globe competed for medals in more than 40 different skills — from electrical installation to hairdressing; from mechanical engineering to stonemasonry; from welding to cooking.

And Team UK competed in most of these skills categories.

But before outlining the contents of our WorldSkills Leipzig 2013 souvenir, it would be right to first thank those who helped to make it possible.

And there are simply too many to mention, including every Team UK competitor, but particular mention must be made of photographer Ellis O’Brien and, from the Skills Funding Agency, Jaine Bolton, Nikki Shuttleworth and Harry Smith.

Finally, a big thank you must also go to our sponsors, awarding organisation NCFE.

Nevertheless, we begin with the opening ceremony on page 3, before a write-up of competition from the first and second days on pages 4 and 5, featuring an interview with WorldSkills International president Simon Bartley.

Events from the third and last days of competition, plus an interview with Team UK alumni and pastry chef Will Torrent, are on pages 6 and 7.

The closing ceremony is on page 8 with the medals table on the following page.

A picture pinboard sits across pages 10 and 11, before coverage restarts on page 14 with Team UK’s pre-competition visit to a German primary school.

Pages 15 to 22 give a competitor’s eye view of the competition with comments from every single member of Team UK along with descriptions of their WorldSkills 2013 tasks.

The final page is given over to Team UK’s supporting staff — the impassioned training managers who make the difficult transition to impartial experts when competition gets under way and the performance coaches who keep the team performing at their best.

————————————————————————————————————————-

FE Week on location in Leipzig