Portsmouth computer whizz kid wins medallion in Worldskills competition

Former Highbury College student Lewis Newton was judged to have reached a world-class standard at the four-day competition last week.

Lewis was up against youngsters from 24 other countries and, while it was the hosts that ultimately topped the table – with South Korea winning their third gold in this event in the past three finals – Lewis was awarded a medallion of excellence for his attainment. These are handed out to competitors who reach a world-class standard.

Lewis Newton said: ‘Being awarded the medallion of excellence in South Korea is a massive achievement and I am over the moon that all the hard work has finally paid off. The whole experience has been brilliant and being recognised as world-class in what I do will be a massive boost to my career. I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me along the way and WorldSkills UK for the amazing opportunity.’

The Web Technologies section looks to test competitors in planning and designing websites, as well as testing and maintaining them, incorporating third party platforms, and integrating social media platforms.

As well as the gold, silver and bronze medals, eight medallions of excellence were handed out to the 24 competitors, who came from countries all over the world including Kazakhstan, Costa Rica, the UAE, Colombia, France, Iran and Armenia.

Lewis is part of a 35-strong Team UK that is competing in a multi-country international skills competition throughout October and November.

The event features 61 finals with over 1,000 competitors in 15 countries. The finals usually take place in one city as part of a 10-day carnival of competition. However, this year’s event scheduled in Shanghai was cancelled due to the pandemic.

WorldSkills UK Deputy CEO Ben Blackledge said: ‘We are so proud of Lewis for being recognised as world class. As part of Team UK, Lewis is a brilliant role model for other young people. It was particularly impressive to secure a medallion of excellence in Korea at the high-tech finals. Cyber skills will be vital if the UK is going to grow a high-skills, high-wage economy and it is just brilliant to see us leading the way like this.’