#NAW2026: Celebration Friday
Published: Friday 13 February 2026It’s been another year of great success for our Myerscough College apprentices, with awards galore for learners and us as a training provider.
As National Apprenticeship Week continues, let’s look at just a selection of our recent regional and national awards:
Myerscough landscaping apprentice paves his way to WorldSkills UK gold
A Myerscough College apprentice has been named the best in the UK after winning the gold medal at the WorldSkills UK final.
Archie Matthews was crowned champion in landscaping after competing alongside the other finalists from across the country to be crowned the UK’s best young landscaper.
The finalists, who also included fellow Myerscough apprentices Jonathan Stout and Kieran Ashby, had to build a fully landscaped garden to a set specification, incorporating a number of features, paving, decking, and other elements, including designing a plan for the project, which they then had 16.5 hours to complete over three days of the final.
Archie has been on a Level 2 Horticulture Operative Apprenticeship Standard (APL) programme, making the final after he demonstrated technical skills in aspects such as block paving, decking construction and plant knowledge in a national qualifier.
Myerscough learners shortlisted in Grounds Management Association’s Industry Awards
Several Myerscough College sportsturf apprentices have been named as finalists in the Grounds Management Association’s (GMA) Industry Awards.
In the Young Grounds Person of the Year category, Adam Hooper and Flynn Good have both been nominated. They are part of the grounds teams at Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City respectively and have both recently completed Level 2 Sportsturf Operative apprenticeships.
In the Newcomer of the Year category, current Level 2 Sportsturf Operative apprentice Samuel Knowles has been nominated. Samuel is part of the grounds team at Nottingham Forest.
Also, many employers have been shortlisted who have embraced apprenticeships and other work-based training with Myerscough College, and have learners active or in the onboarding process.
The award winners will be announced next month.
Myerscough’s apprenticeship provision shortlisted for national ATA award
Myerscough College’s apprenticeship provision has been shortlisted for national recognition in the Apprenticeship and Training Awards.
Myerscough’s sportsturf provision is a finalist in the Outstanding Apprenticeship Programme category.
An independent panel of expert judges met and assessed more than 650 nominations from employers, training providers, colleges and universities, smashing last year’s haul of 600.
Winners will be announced at the Apprenticeships and Training Conference gala dinner and awards evening on March 3, which will be hosted by comedian Sara Pascoe.
Run jointly by industry publication FE Week and the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), and delivered in partnership with City and Guilds, the ninth annual awards celebrate best-in-class training, outstanding outreach and exceptional employer partnerships.
A number of Myerscough sportsturf apprentices made history at the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final.
An all-female team of 15 grounds professionals took charge of the pitch at Allianz Stadium ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final and bronze medal match.
It marked the first time in rugby history that a women-only grounds team has prepared the surface for a showpiece global final.
Myerscough learner crowned national Student Greenkeeper of the Year
A Myerscough College apprentice was named the best student greenkeeper in the country after he scooped a prestigious national industry award.
Bradley Taylor was named winner of the 2025 Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year, a national contest hosted by the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, BIGGA, and is sponsored by turfcare machinery and irrigation manufacturer Toro alongside official UK distributor, Reesink Turfcare.
28-year-old Brad is First Assistant Greenkeeper at Beau Desert Golf Club in the West Midlands, and is currently undertaking a Level 3 Advanced Sports Turf Technician apprenticeship with Myerscough College.
Each year, a selection of the best student greenkeepers, selected from regional interviews hosted across the country, head to the two-day finals of the event, where they complete a variety of tasks designed to test their industry knowledge and their commitment to the profession.
Myerscough rated top land-based college in country for apprenticeships in latest figures
Myerscough College has been recognised as the leading land-based college in the country within the 500+ cohort, according to the latest official figures for apprenticeship achievement.
Myerscough College is one of the biggest apprenticeship providers in the land-based sector, and for the purposes of the statistics, is classed as a ‘Large Provider’. In this category, Myerscough is the top performing specialist land-based college in the country.
In addition, Myerscough comes out as the top performing college in the whole of the North West, including across Lancashire and Cumbria, regarding apprenticeships undertaken by people of all ages.
The figures continue to be impressive when Qualification Achievement Rates (QAR) tables for apprenticeship Standards are analysed in more detail.