Lingotot finalist in major franchising award

In addition to operating her successful Lingotot franchise business, Sarah Canavan supports the whole network in her role as Community Champion

Lingotot franchisee, Sarah Canavan, has been named as a finalist in the Local Focus Franchisee of the Year accolade at the British Franchise Association HSBC Franchise Awards to be held on November 30.

The awards ceremony is the flagship event in the franchising calendar and getting a nomination in itself is an achievement, proving the business works ethically and in the best interests of franchisees and staff, beating many other franchise systems who also entered.

Lingotot was established in 2010 by Angela Sterling, fully qualified teacher whose GCSE students ranked in the top 10 in the world. Since the BBC attended Lingotot’s first-ever class, the business has seen rapid growth and now teaches around 20,000 children per week via a network of over 50 franchisees who are achieving the level of flexibility and success that they want.

In addition to operating her successful Lingotot franchise business, Sarah supports the whole network in her role as Community Champion. She led the way with Lingotot Generations, a programme which brings together young and elderly linguists to learn a new language together. The initiative has proven to be a great success and from its humble beginnings at Riverdale Court Care Home in Welling, it has launched across the UK and even during lockdown, sessions continued via the internet.

Her work in the community has not gone unnoticed and in addition to winning multiple local business awards, Sarah was recently named a Bexley Community Champion where she is tasked with sharing important COVID-19 information amongst the local community to help save lives.

Sarah said: “I am honoured to be named a finalist in the BFA awards. Supporting my local community is something I care passionately about. Lingotot Generations has been so important especially during the lockdown as it has helped to combat loneliness and improve a person’s emotional wellbeing as well as learning something new.”

Pip Wilkins QFP, CEO of the British Franchising Association, congratulated Sarah: “Sarah’s commitment to her community has resulted in local awards, and the fact she still teaches 50 per cent of the classes is testament to her devotion to provide children with the opportunity to learn other languages. Lingotot Generations, bringing children and the elderly together, has been a fantastic initiative.”