A FLORIST from Launceston, Charlotte Dawe, has secured a place in the WorldSkills UK Competition finals after coming first in the regional floristry heats, which took place in May earlier in the year.

She will be joined by fellow student Rosy Elesmore and six other competitors in the final.

Charlotte is a student at the Academy of Floral Art who is studying a high diploma Level 4 qualification in Floristry, whilst balancing her employment with Alison Penno at Flower Scene in Launceston.

She said: “It was very intense. I’ve been telling everyone it was like Masterchef for florists!

“The brief for the South West heat competition was to create a table centre for a romantic dinner for two people, which we had to take completed to the competition. We then had to make two floral pieces on the theme of ‘Love is in the Air’, but we didn’t know what flowers and materials we were going to be provided with for our time allocated designs at Kingston Morewood College, Dorset.”

Charlotte has been a qualified florist at Flower Scene since gaining her Level 2 and 3 qualifications at Bicton College, over eight years ago. She brings a young and modern approach to the small and well-known business in Launceston, shares a passion within floral design and also has a wealth of knowledge of today’s floristry industry.

Flower Scene is a business of high standard; Charlotte has benefitted from expert tuition over the years from Pat and Alison Penno.

Today, Charlotte helps with day-to-day running of the boutique florist shop, from creating personal sympathy tributes and wonderful wedding flowers to everything in between.

The WorldSkills UK finals will take place over four days in November, with the floristry final on November 18 and 19 in Birmingham.

A spokesperson for Flower Scene said: “We wish Charlotte all the best for the final of the UK skills final in November.”