WREXHAM Glyndwr University staff and students will be cheering on two representatives at the prestigious WorldSkills UK national finals next month.

WorldSkills organises the world championships of vocational skills, and the UK championships are the country’s biggest competitive skills and careers event.

Two Glyndwr students will be representing the university at the championships this November, with the full support of their academic leaders and fellow students.

Paige Tynan graduated from the BSc (Hons) Forensic Science with Foundation Year programme in 2020 and is now undertaking a PhD at Glyndwr, has made the national final in the Forensic Science category.

Cyber Security student Jake Sumner is also in the national final of his category and is looking forward to the next challenge.

He said: “The experience so far has been great and I’m looking forward to the final. Getting to the final has been a bit of a shock as I definitely wasn’t expecting it.

“I never planned on entering the competition, it was with the encouragement of my lecturer, Leanne Davies, that I decided to give it a go.

“At first I was a bit apprehensive because I was paired with someone who I’ve never met before but I also didn’t know what to expect.

“Despite not having met my teammate before, we work very well together and have just ‘clicked’.

“Although I’m excited that I’ve got through to the final, I think the best part of entering the competition is that it’s given me confidence in speaking to people and trying new things.”

Forensic Science student Paige has outshined hundreds of competitors to reach this stage of the competition, an achievement in its own right.

She said: “When I signed up for the competition earlier this year, I didn’t expect to make it to the final; never mind being one of the top 8 of 962 competitors in the Forensic Science category.

“The competition was challenging, testing not only our knowledge but also our timekeeping, ability to problem solve, and our ability to communicate effectively.

“I look forward to the challenges the final brings!”