College apprentices and staff shine at the University of Oxford Apprenticeship Awards!

Celebrating the achievements of University apprentices and those who support them, staff and apprentices from Abingdon & Witney College shared the spotlight at the annual University of Oxford Apprenticeship Awards. We are delighted to share that we received an record-breaking 31 nominations, a true reflection of the dedication, and talent within our apprenticeship community.

Held at the University’s Rhodes House on South Parks Road, the event celebrates the achievements of exceptional apprentices, who have made a real difference to their workplace. Any apprentices from across the University’s workforce can be nominated, along with recognising the support they receive from their managers and tutors. For each category there were two highly commended and an overall winner awarded/

One of the highlights of the evening was the Shining Star category, where we were delighted to win all three available awards!, A College apprentice also took home the Intermediate/Advanced Apprentice award, and we were honoured to receive a further three Highly Commended awards. The evening was full of inspiring stories, showcasing the impressive progress of our apprentices and the strength of the University’s apprenticeship programme, alongside their ambition to continue growing in the years ahead. The College has helped place and train apprentices in diverse areas, such as accounting, business, horticulture, and carpentry.

Edward Collett, the College's Commercial Director, who presented the Higher Apprentice Award, shared:

“We were delighted to see so many of our own apprentices as well as some of our staff receive nominations and awards across so many of the categories! It's a great example of how amazing we are at what we do and the huge impact we have on the organisations and apprentices we work with."

And our winning apprentices and staff for 2025 are:

Intermediate/Advanced Apprentice

• Becson Ody, BioEscalator, Business Administrator Level 3 - WINNER 🏆
• Josh Franks, Blavatnik School of Government, Business Administrator Level 3 - Highly Commended 🥇

Shining Star Award

• Joseph Foy, Biology, Assistant Accountant Level 3 - WINNER 🏆
• Rajeev Pal, Department of Engineering Science, Accounts or Finance Assistant Level 2 - Highly Commended 🥇
• Scarlett Large, Department of Politics and International Relations, Business Administrator Level 3 - Highly Commended 🥇

Training Coordinator/Mentor/Tutor Award

• Sheila Greenman, Abingdon & Witney College, Tutor/Assessor - Highly Commended 🥇

Higher Apprentice Award

• Isabelle Thacker, Department of Chemistry, Chartered Manager Degree Level 6 - Highly Commended 🥇

A warm thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate their apprentices, managers and and congratulations to all of those nominated, highly commended, and winners in each category. Huge thanks also to the University of Oxford for continuing to support and celebrate their apprentices.

Abingdon & Witney College have been working formally in partnership with the University of Oxford since 2017 and are proud to be the headline sponsor of this event. The College has worked closely with the University to develop and promote apprenticeships and continues to meet the evolving needs of the organisation by creating an attractive and supportive offer for managers and apprentices alike. In 2025 we enrolled more than forty new apprentices with the University and we’re looking on track to exceed that total for the coming year.

Find out more about the different apprenticeships we offer here.