Well done Lauren!

It was an evening of glitz and glamour at last night's Retail Week Rising Stars Awards for our star apprentice Lauren Taylor (above right).

The national award recognises excellence in retail. Nominated in the Apprentice of the Year category, Lauren was up against nine other apprentices from retailers such as Boots, EE and Argos.

The evening was a chance to celebrate the hard work and dedication Lauren demonstrated during her Pharmacy apprenticeship and though she didn’t scoop the top prize, being shortlisted for such a high-profile national award was a huge achievement.

"Lauren had to prepare for a three-panel interview down in London in order to be in the running for the award. It took a lot of time and effort to prepare so we're really proud of her for getting this far," said Learning and Development Advisor Fay Anderson (above left).

The annual event was hosted by television presenter Angela Scanlon who is currently hosting Robot Wars on BBC One, with senior representatives from IKEA, Hobbycraft and Retail Week presenting the awards for each category.

The evening took place at Grosvenor House Hotel in London and is sponsored each year by the Theo Paphitis Retail Group. Theo (above centre) himself was in attendance, giving speeches and even posing for selfies with Lauren!

There are plenty of apprenticeship opportunities across our branches, find out more here.