The annual Warren Luxton Memorial Award for the top engineering apprentice within across Go South Coast’s bus and coach companies in the South, including Wilts & Dorset, Southern Vectis and Bluestar, has been announced.

Robbie Wakefield, 19 from Holbury, who works Bluestar at our Totton depot, was chosen by supervisors and managers from the many apprentices employed across the Group’s companies. He was judged the winner because of his excellent achievements at college and at work over the last 12 months.

Now in his second year of his apprenticeship with City College Southampton, Robbie has had an interest in motorcycle and car engines, encouraged by his bus driver father Brian, from a young age.

Robbie was presented with the silver platter, a cheque and certificate by Alex Carter, Go South Coast’s Managing Director.

“We are delighted to continue the tradition of the Warren Luxton Memorial Award and offer huge congratulations to Robbie. As a company we recruit a number of apprentices from the region each year to replace those that complete the four year course before joining the experienced technicians and fitters,” said Alex Carter. “It’s an excellent way of developing young people and their skills – they each have a vital role in keeping our buses on the move.”

The award is named after Warren Luxton, who trained as an apprentice at Wilts & Dorset’s Poole depot and subsequently achieved the position of Vehicle Technician at Ringwood depot, but sadly died when he was hit by a car whilst crossing a road in Bournemouth in January 1999. He was just 21. His grandfather and father had both started in the bus industry as apprentices. Rodney Luxton, his father, became the last Non-Executive Chairman of Wilts & Dorset prior to the company’s acquisition by the Go-Ahead Group in August 2003, and created the award to encourage and recognise the dedication and determination shown by the company’s apprentices. The first presentation was made in 2000 to Wayne Coombes who is still with company.