Leading lights from business and education joined the organisers, judges, former winners and dignitaries for the official launch of the region’s leading awards.
To mark this year’s Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards (NBEAs) and Northamptonshire Education Awards (NEAs) opening for entries, invited guests from both sectors attended an exclusive event at Chester House.
Widely regarded as the county’s most prestigious awards, the NBEAs and NEAs celebrate outstanding talent and success from business and education. The awards have achieved the Awards Trust Mark – Outstanding accreditation for the fifth consecutive year – the only awards programme in the region to receive such recognition.
Ben Thomas, awards founder and Managing Director of organisers All Things Business, said: “We’re thrilled to announce entries are now officially open for this year’s Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards and Northamptonshire Education Awards. The awards continue to lead the way in recognising and celebrating the very best within our county.
“We were extremely proud to recently celebrate receiving the Awards Trust Mark – Outstanding accreditation for the fifth time, and we’re delighted these awards continue to be inundated every year with the very highest calibre of entries.”
At the launch, a selection of the invited guests spoke about the awards and the positive impact they have across the business and education sectors. Speakers included Helene Fisher, Marketing Manager at Brioche Pasquier – headline sponsors of the NEAs – who was joined by Amanda Nicols, Deputy Chief Executive at Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust, sponsors of the NEAs Wellbeing Award and winner of Venue of the Year last year.
Headteacher of the Year Award winner in 2025, Dan Rosser, who is CEO of Wootton Park Academy Trust and Executive Headteacher of the Northampton school, spoke about the positive impact of winning, while Rob Jaina, Director of Curation & Learning at Silverstone Museum, gave insights into what he, as a judge of the NEAs, would be looking for from this year’s entries.
Ben Thomas added: “Since establishing the NBEAs in 2018, we have been championing and celebrating local businesses and outstanding people in our county. We continue to build on the awards’ exceptional success with the addition of the phenomenally popular NEAs, which received record numbers of entries last year, as we firmly believe business needs education and education needs business.”
Over the years the awards have been hosted by an array of famous faces including Sir Trevor McDonald, Paddy McGuinness and Russell Kane for the NBEAs, and Eamonn Holmes and Iain Stirling for the NEAs. Entries for both the NBEAs and NEAs this year will close on September 11.
Awards finalists and guests will celebrate the winners, who will be announced at glittering ceremonies being staged at Northampton’s County Cricket Ground on November 27 and December 4 respectively. Mental health awareness and suicide prevention charity Kelly’s Heroes is the chosen charity partner for both awards ceremonies.
With more than 25 free-to-enter award categories there is a diverse range of accolades up for grabs.
For a full list of categories and details of how to enter visit the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards website or the Northamptonshire Education Awards website.
