Ten Students who trained at Burnley College triumphed at the WorldSkills UK finals, bringing back one of the most impressive medal hauls to date.
The talent, determination and technical prowess of these exceptional learners saw all ten learners enjoy podium finishes, marking one of our strongest performances in the competition. The results helped to place Burnley College the second highest college in England and joint fifth place nationally in the competition.
Jayden Sears, 17, from Blackburn and a former student at The Rose School in Burnley secured a well-deserved gold medal in the Cyber Security category with a superb, slick performance.
Jayden impressed the adjudicators by demonstrating excellent ability in a wide range of industry competencies including reconnaissance, scanning, vulnerability testing and preventing the exploitation of multifunctional IT systems.
The Creative Digital Media finalists; Benny Haley, Calleigh Riding, Sofia Speak and Maisey Dillon, brought home silver medals in the Digital Media Production category held at the University of South Wales in Cardiff.
Prior to the competition, Calleigh shared that she had one aim: to win. Her laser focus, combined with the team’s commitment to effective collaboration, has certainly paid off.
Maisey is excited to see what the future holds now that she’s taken the first steps towards making her ambitions a reality:
“WorldSkills has really opened my eyes to the options that are out there. I’m fascinated by colour grading and photography. I’d love to pursue a university degree and career in digital media production.”
Rounding off the spirited group of medallists are the Foundation Skills: Creative Media finalists Harry Metcalfe, John Subala and Tommaso Montagnino, and Igor Dolgan and Keiran Webster in the Mechatronics category – who all won bronze medals.
Having previously competed at the entry level in the Automation category, Igor and Keiran were especially proud to have challenged themselves and placed on the podium in a tough and complex Mechatronics contest that tested their ability to combine skills in mechanics, pneumatics, hydraulics, electrics, electronics, computer technology, robotics, production digitalisation, systems development and integration.
The success of all of the amazing finalists has firmly put Burnley College on the WorldSkills map.
Neil Burrows, Director of Skills and Innovation at Burnley College, couldn’t speak highly enough of the team following their extraordinary wins:
“What a moment. I couldn’t be prouder of what our learners have achieved at the WorldSkills UK National Finals over the last couple of weeks. Seeing their determination and professionalism up close has been inspiring, and their incredible results makes it even more special. They’ve shown the whole country what world-class skills truly look like.”
“The coaching and behind-the-scenes support provided by our tutors has been instrumental in getting our learners to this level. I couldn’t be prouder of the whole team who embody everything Burnley College stands for.”
WorldSkills UK aligns perfectly with our Core Values of Ambition & Challenge and Building Beyond, and is just one of the fantastic opportunities for personal and professional development offered to learners at Burnley College.
Do you have the passion, the drive and the dedication to follow in the medallists’ footsteps and become an award winner?
Explore our unrivalled facilities, talk to expert tutors and discover our wide range of vocational courses and apprenticeship opportunities at our next Open Evening on Tuesday 10th February 2026.
