What a wonderful 2 days of showcasing professional floristry for the WorldSkills UK Finals. We had eight competitors who had all competed in the regional heats in the summer to earn their places and they didn’t disappoint with their creativity. Each competitor has less than 5 years experience in industry.
Together with other skill sectors, Floristry was hosted at Barking and Dagenham college over 2 days on 16th and 17th November.
Read all about the competitors HERE!
Day One
The competitors had their morning briefing and then moved into their booths for the 2 hours of prep time allocated to them, during this time they condition their flowers, check their sundries, split their flowers into buckets and start to decide what materials they would like to use for each task. They are allowed to sketch during this time and the technical judging team check their personal toolboxes to ensure that they only have the competition tool box items in their booths. Once the 2 hours is up the practical challenge begins!
The theme for the competition was: Ladies day at the races
First Task
A bridal design to be carried by a bride at a jockeys wedding held at a racecourse.
Time: 1.5 hours
The competitors were all given the same image of a bridal gown for inspiration and it was specified that the design should not be a hand tied design.
Second task
Floor standing structural floral arrangement for the royal enclosure at ladies day at the races
Time: 2.5 hours
The competitors were all given a minimum height of 1m to work too.
Day two
The competitors had 30 minutes to sort their materials in the morning before starting their designs. Day two had three practical tasks so they all needed to be mentally ready as two of the schedules were a surprise. The surprise tasks are designed to challenge the competitors to think fast and manage their time.
Third task
Wired hat decoration to be worn at ladies day at the races
Time: 1.5 hours
The competitors all had the same hat to design for and no glue was to be used in the design.
Fourth task: Surprise
A hand tied bouquet to be given to the owner of a winning racehorse
Time: 1 hour
The competitors were free to design as they wish regarding size and shape.
Fifth task: Surprise
Floral handbag design to be carried at ladies day at the races
Time: 1 hour
The competitors were all supplied with the same handbag to design for and were free to decide what technique/s to use.
The Judging
The Judges from the UK Floristry Judging Guild consisted of Lynda Owen and Jane Benefield. Each task is judged separately, after which, the marks are collated and sent through to WorldSkillsUK for finals checks before the eagerly awaited medal ceremony.
The WorldSkillsUK technical handbook gives full information to current and future competitors including the below marking scheme used to judge the designs.
| Criterion | Aspect ID | Description | Maximum Marks |
| Idea | A1 | Creativity of design | 5 |
| A2 | Choice of material suitable for this task | 5 | |
| A3 | Interpretation of schedule | 10 | |
| TOTAL FOR IDEA | 20 | ||
| Colour | B1 | Proportion/dominance of colour used | 5 |
| B2 | Colour building (contrast/harmony/value of colours) | 5 | |
| B3 | Placement of colours/expression of idea in colours | 5 | |
| TOTAL FOR COLOUR | 15 | ||
| Composition | C1 | Shape/form/proportion/visual balance | 10 |
| C2 | Movement/rhythm/line/space | 10 | |
| C3 | Texture/harmony/dominance/contrast | 10 | |
| TOTAL FOR COMPOSITION | 30 | ||
| Technique (workmanship) | D1 | Condition of materials. Guarantee of durability | 10 |
| D2 | Care of materials | 5 | |
| D3 | Stability of work/ actual balance | 5 | |
| D4 | Suitability of technique and method of construction | 5 | |
| D5 | Finish and workmanship | 10 | |
| TOTAL FOR TECHNIQUE | 35 | ||
| TOTAL MARKS | 100 |
And the Winner is………
Gold Medal: Shelley Keefe – Berkshire College
The medal ceremony was broadcast on 25th November live from the Packed Lunch studio and hosted by Steph McGovern.
Silver Medal: Kirsty Noble, The floristry School, Sheffield College
Bronze Medal: Danielle Thompson – Doncaster College
Bronze Medal: Kathleen McClorey – Self Employed
Highly Commended: Holly Moule- Flowers International
Well done to all the competitors who worked so hard and made us very proud of these budding industry stars!
