A surprise awaited guests at a special event held at Northampton’s Delapre Abbey when it was revealed they had made the shortlists for two major awards events to be held in November.
Those selected from entries made to either the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards (NBEA) 2021 or the Northamptonshire Education Awards (NEA) 2021, were invited to a drinks reception in The Dining Room at Delapré Abbey on September 29th under the pretence that they were attending an informational evening in preparation for the awards. As the guests enjoyed networking, canapes’ and a well-deserved glass of fizz, Ben Thomas from All Things Business announced that the reason they had been invited to the event was to reveal the categories they had been selected as finalists in.
The finalists will now wait in anticipation to discover the winners of the awards when they attend the ceremonies held at the Northamptonshire County Cricket Ground.
The Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards held on November 25th will be hosted by former newsreader and journalist Sir Trevor McDonald and will comprise of 12 categories including Apprentice of the Year, Big Business of the Year, and the Community Project or Person of the Year. The entries were scored against a set of criteria and marked through a bespoke software system to select the finalists. In the lead-up to the ceremony in November they will be reviewed by an independent panel of judges, headed up by the star of TV’s The Apprentice, Nick Hewer, to choose a winner.
The following evening, November 26th, the stars of the county’s education sector will get their moment in the spotlight at the Northamptonshire Education Awards 2021. The education awards comprise 11 categories, including Nursery of the Year and School Business Manager of the Year, as well as an Overall School of the Year trophy. The entries were whittled down by the same system as the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards and the eventual winners will be selected by the same panel of judges.
Ben Thomas said: “We want to make this year’s awards very special after having to move them online last year due to the pandemic, and so we decided that getting everyone together at Delapré Abbey to announce the finalists would be a special bonus.
“Now the judges have the hard task of picking the winners from some exceptional entries, and we’re looking forward to two fantastic awards nights in November.”
Take a look at the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards and Northamptonshire Education Awards finalists for 2021.
Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards 2021 Finalists
– Apprentice of the Year, sponsored by Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce –
Amelia Dolby, Amplitude Media
Matthew Leach, pHP architects
Gary Kent, Travis Perkins
Kirsty Lancaster, Travis Perkins
– Business of the Year, sponsored by Medigold Health –
– Businessman of the Year, sponsored by Northamptonshire’s Britains Best Surprise –
– Businesswoman of the Year, sponsored by BHIB insurance brokers –
Greta McDonald (Sweet Lounge)
Sheena Tanna-Shah (Inspiring Success)
Nikki Sexton (KidStop)
– Community Project or Person of the Year, sponsored by dbfb –
Northampton Town FC Community Trust
– Employer of the Year, sponsored by Northampton Saints –
– Food & Drink Award, sponsored by SH Pratt Group –
– Innovation Award, sponsored by All Things Management –
– Land & Development Award, sponsored by Moore –
– Marketing Campaign of the Year, sponsored by Franklin solicitors –
– Professional Services Award, sponsored by ACS Office solutions –
Northamptonshire Education Awards 2021 Finalists
– English Team or Teacher of the Year, sponsored by ncfe –
Fazila Sogojeva (Kingswood Secondary Academy)
Karen Wilcox (Raunds Park Infants)
– Maths Team or Teacher of the Year, sponsored by J Sweeney Accountants –
Lydia Cartwright (Stanwick Primary School)
Anita Quinn (iMAT Trust)
Kyle Dunkley (Northampton Academy)
Paul Thompson (Yardley Gobion Primary School)
– School Business Manager of the Year, sponsored by ACS office solutions –
Bev Churchman (Wallace Road Nursery school)
Tracey Carter (Billing Brook School)
– Headteacher of the Year, sponsored by Starting Off –
Chris Clyne (Northampton Academy)
Kerry Mills (Newton Road School)
– Nursery of the Year, sponsored The Apertus Group –
Greenfields Primary School & Nursery
– STEM Award for 2021, sponsored by The STEM Project –
Construction Team @ Northampton College