APPRENTICE of the Year Award, sponsored by Basingstoke and Deane Leisure Trust

A TEACHING assistant who has found her true calling was honoured at the awards ceremony.

Nikki Bicknell joined Everest Community Academy, having worked in retail up until that point, to train up to be a teaching assistant.

And now, she has won the Apprentice of the Year Award, coupled with the fact she passed her apprenticeship to become a fully qualified member of the team.

Nikki jokes that she chose the career path to ‘get long school holidays to spend with her children’ but now feels as if she has found her true calling and is looking to train up further.

After winning the award, Nikki said: “It’s amazing - I am so happy.

“A lot of people didn’t realise I was an apprentice when I was training, which is really humbling to think that they thought I was a proper teacher!”

Her nomination read: “Nikki has always gone above and beyond what was expected of her as an apprentice teaching assistant, creating incredible resources, working in all subjects, working with all students and especially working with a student who last year hardly attended school at all.

“Nikki is a very valued member of the team and I am so proud that she has passed her apprenticeship and is now a qualified member of our team.”