City College Plymouth Student Scoops Silver at Apprentice Final

Claire Hill, aged 21 from Plymouth and a painting and decorating student at City College Plymouth, secured second place in this year's Dulux Decorator Centres' Apprentice of the Year competition. Claire picked up her award at a prestigious award ceremony held at Crewe Hall on Thursday 11th June 2009 after completing a gruelling six and a half hours of painting and decorating.

The final took place at Stoke-on-Trent College with nine students - six males and three females - tackling elements of wallpapering, stencilling, waterborne glosses, along with some special effects work. The heat was extremely tough, however, Claire brushed the competition aside to scoop a well deserved second place behind Steven Barthorpe from Angus College - making her the top female apprentice in the competition.

Claire's win netted herself a £500 cash prize, £100 worth of Dulux Decorator Centre vouchers, as well as a host of fantastic products to set her up in the industry.

Now in its second year, the Apprentice of the Year competition scoured the country to find the best painter and decorator apprentices in the industry. Eight heats were held at painting and decorating colleges across the UK - Carmarthenshire, Oldham, Plymouth, Birmingham, Doncaster, Slough, Angus and Durham - with the best painting and decorating apprentices earning a place in the national final.

Claire, aged 21, who attends City College Plymouth part time and also works for Eva & Hill Professional Decorators, commented: "I am chuffed to bits to have come second in the competition. It was very challenging and I was up against some tough finalists. The Apprentice of the Year final was extremely well organised and the task really put each of us to the test. Painting and decorating is often seen as a career for men, but there are more and more female apprentices getting into the trade."

The award ceremony was attended by all the students and lecturers involved in the final, along with the suppliers, sponsors and key executives from Dulux Decorator Centres.

Marketing communications manager at Dulux Decorator Centres, the UK's leading painting and decorating specialist, Jo Chapman, commented: "The standard at this year's Apprentice of the Year competition was extremely high and it was a really close call. Claire's final piece was excellent and it was her attention to detail and passion for her work, which really stood out and secured her second place.

"Dulux Decorator Centres launched the Apprentice of the Year competition last year to showcase the best talent in the industry, reward good work and encourage more young people to enter the profession, and this year has been no exception. The competition is going from strength to strength and the students entering are world class apprentices."