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Aspiration Awards 2026

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Behind every success, there is aspiration

Our Aspiration Awards honour the success of learners, apprentices, educators, support staff and educational organisations across the UK.  

We believe that there isn’t just one definition of success. Throughout our 175 years in this sector, we've seen it in many forms – from going above and beyond to exceed expectations, to overcoming obstacles to achieve the unexpected, to finding new and innovative ways of working to help others achieve.

Meet our judges!

Discover our panel of influential figures from across education, skills, and the media who will judge this year's awards:

Click here to meet our 2026 judges

Announcing our finalists!

We'd like to congratulate all our finalists for the Aspiration Awards 2026. Please find our shortlists in full below:

Against All Odds

Amber Wanley, DN Colleges Group  

Annabelle Groombridge, Aced Qualifications  

Jade ShawTempdent  

Lucas McElroy, Blenheim High School  

Lucy MearsThorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form  

Mariah-Marie Kane, Shooters Hill Sixth Form College  

Mohammad Tempah, The Hub Educational Services  

Paige Osmond, Warrington & Vale Royal College  

Phinley Parker, Aced Qualifications  

Ursula CullenSouth West College 

Apprentice of the Year

Ava Reed, Inspire Education Group  

Chloe BamfordRace Ahead Training  

Courtney SiddallBolton College  

Ethan RamseyDarlington College  

Jacob NaylorLeeds City College  

Jorja WilliamsHalesowen College  

Lily Keogh, MIT Skills Limited  

Paula Schrader, Exeter College  

Sophie Smith, TEC Partnership

(Grimsby Campus)  

Susana Araujo Jacques, East Sussex College 

Centre of the Year

Aspire Education Academy  

Best Practice Network Bristol  

Blackburn College  

Exeed College   

Health and Early Years Department at South Staffordshire College 

(Tamworth and Cannock campuses)

Learning Curve Group  

LimeCulture training  

MIT Skills  

Nursing and Midwifery department at Middlesbrough College  

West Heath School 

Educator of the Year

Alfie Scott, Middlesbrough College  

Andrew Johnson, Redcar and Cleveland College  

Faye Field, Activate Learning  

Jasmin Cooper, Swindon Borough Council  

Jodie Mckenna, Blackpool Sixth Form College  

Lyndsey Drohan, South Staffordshire College  

Lynn Baker, Lincoln College  

Owen Skellington, The Hub Educational Services  

Phil Harris, Land & Wave Ltd  

Tamsin Glover-Emerson, Lancaster and Morecombe College 

Learner of the Year

Amani Sobhi, CECOS College London  

Ela Burton, TEC Partnership (The Academy Grimsby)  

Harvey Truscott-Hull, TEC Partnership (East Riding College)  

Izzy Wills, Exeter College  

Jaylen Kadir, Blackburn College  

Lewis J Ahmed, Double Eleven  

Lotte Christian, Aced Qualifications  

NongeBikishoni, Bournemouth and Poole College  

Orla Geeson, The Hub Educational Services   

River Querelle, East Coast College (Great Yarmouth Campus) 

Support Staff of the Year

Aastha Chhabra, Future Connect Training and Recruitment 

Catherine Elliott, Cheshire College – South and West  

Greta Warner, Napier School  

Gulshan Bi, Bradford College  

Jo Molloy, ACAS  

Julie Snelling, USP College  

Lindon Wallace, City of Westminister College  

Mark Gent, Bolton College

Molly Barker, The Hub Educational Services   

Paul Horvath, Middlesbrough College 

Celebrating our 2025 winners 

It was incredibly hard for our judges to choose our 2025 winners following nominations for so many inspiring learners, educators and centres. Discover more about our winners by clicking on their images below, or discover our full list of 2025 winners here.

Learner of the Year: Isabelle Fazackerley, Shipley College

Apprentice of the Year: Carly Tait, Learning Curve Group

Against All Odds: Anya Clair, Wolverhampton College

Watch Anya Clair's story 

Against All Odds winner – Anya Clair, Wolverhampton College

Anya Clair’s education was put on hold after a car accident left her with severe physical and cognitive injuries. After originally joining the City of Wolverhampton College in 2022, her path was tragically interrupted aged 17 when driving with her friends, but she has now been inspired by those who cared for her.  

Watch her video to learn how she overcame the challenges she faced.

Watch on Youtube now

CACHE Outstanding Achievement Award winner: Sara Louise Gilpin, Southern Regional College 

Support Staff of the Year 2025 winner: Andrew Firth, Leeds City College 

Educator of the Year winner:  Caroline Kerr, Southern Regional College 

Centre of the Year winner: The Public Services Department at Leeds City College 

The Public Services Department at Leeds City College supports learners with their journey towards a career in Uniformed Protective Services. They have earned the Centre of the Year award for their dedication to learner success and exceptional public service. 

Tom Griffiths, Head of Department, shared: “Our alumni have gone on to further apprenticeships with local Uniformed Protective Service organisations, or taken on a Policing, Criminology, or Law path at university. We are proud to have taught members of the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, HM Prison Service, and the Armed Forces in our department.” 

Find out how the department achieves high student success and makes a difference in the local community. 

Read the college's story