A TOP apprentice from Shrivenham has won a silver medal in the World Skills Abu Dhabi competition.

Daryl Head flew off to the United Arab Emirates earlier this month to take part in the event as part of the UK team.

The 21-year-old paint technician began his apprenticeship at Nationwide in 2012, days after leaving school, and was then scouted to join Team UK during a skills show in 2015.

He then took part in competitions held in Denmark and Northern Island to gain valuable experience before beginning preparation for the Abu Dhabi event.

After competing for four days against other young paint technicians from around the world in the Olympic-style event, he won silver in Car Painting.

Daryl said: “Thank you to everyone for the support along the way and giving me the opportunity to achieve this for myself and the company.”

The closing ceremony kicked off over the weekend, with thousands gathered to watch as the names of the medal winners were read out.

Members of Team UK competing in Beauty therapy, Autobody Repair and Stone Masonry were all called up to collect their medals while Daryl waited patiently, then he made his way up to the stage where he was awarded the silver medal to a huge round of applause.

Michael Wilmshurst, Nationwide CEO, said: "Daryl is the embodiment of one of our company values to always strive for continuous improvement.

"This is an incredible achievement for him, he has worked extremely hard and is very deserving of his medal.

"He has a very bright future at Nationwide and we look forward to supporting his career development. From myself and the team at Nationwide, congratulations Daryl."

Joined by his family in Abu Dhabi, Daryl spent the evening celebrating with the other medal winners from Team UK.

The team picked up a total of 20 medals, one gold, three silver, three bronze and 13 medallions of excellence, seeing them rank 10th in the medals table.