Summa students win seven medals at national vocational competitions

Students from Summa won a total of seven medals during Skills The Finals 2026 at the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch. The haul: two gold, two silver, and three bronze.

Yven Swinkels (20) from Aarle-Rixtel won gold in the Entrepreneur Trade category. There was also gold in the Pastry Chef category: Lize de Wildt (17) from Doorn stood on the highest step of the podium. As a result, these two Summa students can call themselves Dutch champions for a year.

The Beauty Specialist category yielded silver for Marit-Tessa van den Boogaard (18) from Valkenswaard. Max van Nieuwaal (20) from Beusichem also won silver in the Baker category. For Max, this means equaling last year's result, when he also finished second.

Bronze was awarded in the Management Assistant category to Romaysa Laamairi (18) from Best. In the Business Administrator category, bronze went to Vera Benedix (20) from Kronenberg. Sven Videler (18) from Heibloem came third in the Sport category.

Jochem Meulesteen of the Executive Board of Summa: “I am entering the new week with energy. After two days of Skills at the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch, I am particularly impressed by what our students have demonstrated. The level, the focus, the will to give it their all. The fact that you also come home with medals makes it even better. And at least as special: the dedication of our teachers. Their guidance and belief in their students. You saw that reflected during the competitions and tonight on the stage and in the audience. This is truly something you achieve together.”

The final competitions at the Brabanthallen in Den Bosch on Thursday and Friday marked the highlight after months of training and selection competitions. Skills Heroes is the Dutch championship for MBO (vocational) students, in which participants compete against the best peers from other schools. 26 students from Summa participated in the finals in 23 different categories. They had previously qualified through selection competitions and underwent intensive preparation leading up to the finals, often outside of school hours.

Skills The Finals is an initiative of WorldSkills Netherlands and was held for the ninth time this year. Annually, the event attracts more than 30.000 visitors, including pre-vocational secondary education students, vocational secondary education students, teachers, policymakers, and other stakeholders from education and business.

The 2026 edition has been made possible in part by the Brabant education partners Curio, De Rooi Pannen, Koning Willem I College, SintLucas, Summa, and Ter AA, together with over 200 companies.