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Ten students from Nescot competed at a prestigious national skills competition in Birmingham last week (November 23).

The group made it through a series of grueling regional heats for the chance to represent the college at WorldSkills UK, an annual event aimed at promoting technical excellence through competition.

This year the students didn’t win any medals, but CEO and Principal Frances Rutter praised them for their hard work in getting to the finals.

“The WorldSkills UK competition is extremely demanding, so to make it all the way to the national finals is a huge achievement,” she said.

“At Nescot we take competitions seriously because we know they are such a great opportunity for our students to improve both their technical skills and their self-confidence and teamwork.

“I also want to thank our teaching staff who have worked so hard to prepare their students for WorldSkills UK and supported them through the process.”

WorldSkills UK involves students competing in subjects from aeronautical engineering to welding, with regional heats across the country leading to the national finals at The NEC Birmingham.

The national competition also feeds into the biennial international contest, with participating students eligible to be chosen. The UK Squad for Shanghai 2021 will be announced in January.

Four Computing students reached the national finals. Isaac George competed in the Network Infrastructure Technician category, Luke Dyte competed in Network Systems Administrator, and Kieran Masters and Stewart Hutton competed in Cyber Security.

Jake Roberts and Benjamin Williams, both studying Games, Animation and VFX, competed in the 3D Digital Game Art category, while Creative Media students Abbie Gartell, Hayden Kendrick, Jack Elliott and Stefania Cordone comprised the four-strong team who competed in Digital Media Production.