College of West Anglia apprentice Carly Walden, 17, from Terrington St Clement, has beaten 400 nominees to be named apprentice of the year, in a national care awards ceremony held in London, on Friday 25^th November 2016. Carly was shortlisted in ‘National Care Awards’ as an outstanding support staff member within the care sector - along with three other national candidates - and was invited to London for an interview to decide who the winner would be prior to the awards night. Miss Walden works as an apprentice at Kimberley Care Village, in Long Sutton, which specialises in elderly care, dementia care and respite. She has a strong focus on nutritional care, helping in the kitchen with dietary plans and assisting those patients at mealtime. Care home manager Nadine Vail nominated Carly for the award. She said: “I was so happy that I lost my voice from cheering! This is the only recognised awards ceremony in the care sector so is a really big deal. We were up against some big name contenders in the care world, such as Barchester Healthcare and Four Seasons, and Carly outshone them all. It’s absolutely brilliant and we are all so proud of her. She’s a credit to us!” Her training and assessment coordinator at CWA, Clare Field, is delighted with her achievements and said: “Carly’s success really reflects her work ethic. She has only been at Kimberley Care Village for a year and is quite a quiet person and not competitive at all, so to win an award like this is so inspirational for other apprentices at CWA.” Miss Walden said: “I didn’t expect to win and I don’t think it has really sunk in yet. The other contestants were lovely and the whole event is still a bit of a blur from the moment they called my name on stage.”