Business and education leaders celebrate awards launch
“We’re thrilled to announce entries are now officially open for this year’s Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards and Northamptonshire Education Awards"
Leading lights from business and education joined judges, former winners and dignitaries for the official launch of the region’s leading awards.
To mark this year’s Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards (NBEAs) and Northamptonshire Education Awards (NEAs) opening for entries, guests from business and education attended an exclusive event at Chester House.
Widely regarded as the county’s most prestigious awards, the NBEAs and NEAs celebrate outstanding talent and success from the business and education sectors, showcasing the achievements of winners from across the region. The Northamptonshire awards have been awarded their own outstanding accolade for the fifth consecutive year - the only awards programme in the region to receive such recognition.
Ben Thomas, awards founder and Managing Director of awards organisers All Things Business, said: “We’re thrilled to announce entries are now officially open for this year’s Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards and Northamptonshire Education Awards. These amazing awards continue to lead the way in recognising and celebrating the very best in business and education within our county.
“We were extremely proud to recently celebrate our own success after being awarded the Awards Trust Mark – Outstanding accreditation for the fifth year in a row. As the only awards programme in the region to receive such esteemed recognition, we’re delighted these awards continue to be inundated every year with the very highest calibre of entries.”
A selection of the invited guests addressed attendees to talk about the awards and the positive impact they have across the business and education sectors. Speakers included Helene Fisher, Marketing Manager at Brioche Pasquier - headline sponsors of the NEAs - who was joined by Amanda Nicols, Deputy Chief Executive at Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust, sponsors of the NEAs Wellbeing Award and winner of last year’s Venue of the Year accolade.
Headteacher of the Year Award winner in 2025, Dan Rosser, who is CEO of Wootton Park Academy Trust and Executive Headteacher of the Northampton school, spoke about the positive impact of winning, while Rob Jaina, Director of Curation & Learning at Silverstone Museum, gave insights into what he, as a judge of the NEAs, would be looking for from this year’s entries.
Ben Thomas added: “Since establishing the NBEAs in 2018, we have been championing and celebrating local businesses and outstanding people in our county. We continue to build on the awards’ exceptional success with the addition of the phenomenally popular NEAs, which received record numbers of entries last year, as we firmly believe business needs education and education needs business.”
Over the years the awards have been hosted by an array of famous faces including Sir Trevor McDonald, Paddy McGuinness and Russell Kane for the NBEAs, and Eamonn Holmes and Iain Stirling for the NEAs. Entries for both the NBEAs and NEAs this year will close on September 11.
Awards finalists and guests will celebrate the winners who will be announced at glittering ceremonies being staged at Northampton’s County Cricket Ground on November 27 and December 4 respectively. Mental health awareness and suicide prevention charity Kelly’s Heroes is the chosen charity partner for both awards ceremonies.
With more than 25 award categories, which are all free to enter, there is a diverse range of accolades available to win.
For more information visit https://awards.allthingsbusiness.co.uk/nbea/ https://awards.allthingsbusiness.co.uk/nea/
2026 NBEAs Categories
Apprentice of the Year – sponsored by Northampton College
Innovation Award
Land & Development Award – sponsored by DFA Law
Professional Services Award – sponsored by ACS Staffing Solutions
Community Project or Person of the Year
Sustainability Award
Employer of the Year – sponsored by Tresham College
Employee of the Year
Businessman of the Year
Businesswoman of the Year – sponsored by More Driver Solutions
Venue of the Year
Business of the Year – sponsored by Simply Techspace
Big Business of the Year – sponsored by MHA
2026 NEAs Categories
Maths Team/Teacher of the Year – sponsored by Brioche Pasquier
English Team/Teacher of the Year – sponsored by University of Northampton
Environmental and Sustainability Award – sponsored by Freefoam Building Products
IT Team/Teacher of the Year – sponsored by Easipc
STEM Award
Sports Award – sponsored by Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Wellbeing Award – sponsored by Delapre Abbey
Primary School of the Year – sponsored by The Corby Sixthform
Secondary School of the Year – sponsored by Simply Techspace
SEND School of the Year – sponsored by Northampton Saints Foundation
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champion
Alternative Provision Provider of the Year
Unsung Hero
Headteacher of the Year – sponsored by FormFive
Lifetime Achievement Award – sponsored by All Things Business
Overall School of the Year – sponsored by Simply Education