Patchwork student wins top excellence award

Liesbeth Williams, a patchwork and quilting student at Coleg Menai in Bangor, is one of only 98 people, selected from over 1.8 million eligible learners throughout Britain, to scoop a 2009 City & Guilds Medal for Excellence for her outstanding performance in Design and Craft in Stitched Textiles. Liesbeth was also nominated by City & Guilds for The Worshipful Company of Broderers Award, and she won the £300 first prize for her excellent achievement.

City & Guilds, the UK’s leading awarding body for work-related qualifications, has presented the coveted medals every year since 1879. The Medals for Excellence programme rewards talented people who have displayed exceptional standards as students or educational professionals, and whose portfolio and achievements put them a cut above the rest.

According to the City & Guilds judging panel: “Liesbeth has shown determination and originality in her coursework and has achieved very high standards. She is a deserving recipient of the Medal for Excellence and we are delighted to have chosen her for this award. This candidate's portfolio was a pleasure to judge! Rarely do we see such a direct and honest approach to design and craft. The simplicity of the sketchbooks was refreshing too. Often we are confronted with elaborate presentations that have none of the creativity and integrity of this work. This is excellent teaching!"

During the presentation ceremony in March, hosted at the Norwegian Church, Cardiff Bay by Mandy James (City & Guilds National Manager for Wales) and Jo Banks (Head of Skills Strategy and Basic Skills, Welsh Assembly Government), Liesbeth said “I am very pleased to receive this award and would like to thank my tutor Janine Jones for her support and encouragement and my employer, Llyfrau Magma, publisher of Môn Mam Cymru: the Guide to Anglesey. I started Patchwork and Quilting courses eight years ago with little knowledge of sewing or art and design. I enjoyed working at Coleg Menai's Parc Menai site as it is such a creative environment. Alongside my studies, I have brought up a family of four children and have remained in employment throughout. I plan to continue with textiles in the future by attending workshops and entering competitions. A group of us who have completed the City & Guilds qualification have also decided to meet up once a month to set each other challenging tasks!”

Ian Lloyd, Art and Design Programme Area Manager at Coleg Menai, said: “Liesbeth has deservedly won this mark of special distinction and this award is testament to her hard work and talent. It also demonstrates that the combination of Liesbeth’s determination and creativity and the excellent teaching provided by her tutor, Janine Jones, is a passport to achievement at such a high level.”

Liesbeth is now in the running to win one of nine prestigious Lion Awards, dubbed the ‘Education Oscars’, which will be announced in April when she attends a gala event celebrating learning, success and achievement at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.



Liesbeth Williams (centre) with her tutor Janine Jones and Coleg Menai Principal, Dr Haydn Edwards.


Liesbeth with her work at the Coleg Menai Art, Design and Media Exhibition in Parc Menai last Summer.

Below are examples of Liesbeth's work.