Weston College learner, Gracie Donaghy, recently won the SPARKS Female Skills Competition 2025! This intense competition challenges participants to complete a live electrical installation from start to finish, testing their knowledge, accuracy, and time management under pressure.

Gracie is currently in her third year of an EAL Level 3 Diploma in Electrical Installation Apprenticeship with Wessex Water. This apprenticeship has allowed her to develop skills in installing and testing cabling systems, containment, and a range of electrical components.

Gracie secured her place in the final of the competition after impressing the judges during the South Regional Heats and achieving first-place. Her precision and skill were demonstrated throughout both competitions, gaining recognition from her peers and competitors as well as the judges for her excellent accuracy, time-management and attention to detail.

Having taken part in the competition last year, Gracie came into this year’s event with a clear goal to beat her previous performance. She dedicated time to practicing installations that she felt less confident with, including lighting circuits and unfamiliar wiring setups.

After winning the South Regional Heats and securing her place in the final, Gracie added, “During the competition, I felt very nervous as I wanted to do well and demonstrate my best work. After the competition, I felt very proud of the work I had completed. I performed better than I did last year and that was my main aim.”

Not only did Gracie show massive improvements from last year’s competition, but she also did herself and Weston College extremely proud. Gracie was stunned when she not only received the amazing title of SPARKS Female Skills Winner 2025, but she also got a range of tools and goodies and a fantastic cash prize to put towards her future.

The SPARKS Female Skills Competition is a great way for young females from all over the country to show their skills and compete with likeminded individuals. Competitions like these encourage future generations to take up trades courses and break down stereotypes in largely male-dominated subject areas.

Gracie also highlighted the fantastic benefits to the competition, saying, “it gives you a chance to meet others going through the same journey, and to push yourself to see what you can achieve under time constraints.”

Andy Fisher, one of our Electrotechnical Lecturers, has worked closely with Gracie throughout her time at Weston College, saying "Gracie is an exceptional student who works extremely hard in every task she completes. Her place in the final reflects the quality of work she produces. She is always millimetre perfect and very tidy with her installations and has always been such a pleasure to teach.

"As a lecturer, it’s an amazing competition to get the chance to attend with them and you can tell it means a lot to them too. Not only this, it’s also a phenomenal thing to put on their CV and Gracie has gone above and beyond with her achievement!"

Well done to all of the students who took part, and a massive well done to Gracie for this fantastic achievement and for representing the college with an amazing display of professionalism and maturity throughout both competitions!

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