Back in April when we announced the McQueens International Flower School Scholarship programme to mark the end of the School’s twenty-first birthday year, we knew it would be popular, and hoped that the coronavirus pandemic would not prevent people from applying.

While we’re thrilled to have received a large number of applications from talented florists at the beginning of the career - excited to join our renowned four-week vocational course in London or spend some time with our team in New York, we’ve also listened to everyone who’s asked for more time to submit their application due to the challenges they’re facing during lock-down.

Because we would like as many people as possible to have the chance to apply for this career-changing opportunity, we’re delighted to announce that School Principal, Sophie Powell, has extended the deadline for applications to 31st July 2020 and made it easier for people of any nationality or country of residence to apply.

About the McQueens International Flower School Scholarship

The Scholarship programme has been devised to give three talented florists at the beginning of their career in professional floral design a unique opportunity to develop their skills with a global floral brand. There are three scholarships available - two in London and one in New York.

Two talented people will be invited to join our world-famous four-week Vocational Course at theMcQueens International Flower School in London with all their course fees covered, and one lucky person will benefit from bespoke training and practical experience with McQueens Flowers New York.

Now in its 22nd year, our flower school in London has welcomed students from all over the globe to learn professional floristry by taking our Vocational Course - an in-depth modular programme that begins with a thorough introduction to flowers and essential skills and techniques followed by expert tuition on specific aspects of floral design including wedding flowers, event flowers, hospitality and corporate weekly flowers, and culminating with large-scale site-specific floral installations. Teaching and individual coaching is delivered by dedicated tutors and top-level working florists - all of whom have the depth of practical floristry experience required to teach at the highest standard. Unlike many other flower schools, as one of the largest and most respected floral design businesses in the world, we almost uniquely ‘Teach what we do, and do what we teach’.

The third successful applicant will be invited to join McQueens Flowers New York to undertake a bespoke one-day masterclass with McQueens Flowers’ Creative Director in New York, followed by a two-day internship.

Application criteria

A McQueens International Flower School Scholarship is a very special opportunity for those with a passion and talent for flowers to take their floristry career to the next level. All three scholarships are specifically aimed at supporting talented florists who are new to the craft with a maximum of one year’s experience as a professional florist.

People of any nationality and country of residency scholarship may apply, but must be over 18 years old when they apply. It’s the applicant’s responsibility to ensure they are eligible to travel to and stay for the duration of their scholarship in either the UK or USA, and to obtain any visa required.

How to apply

To apply for either of the two scholarships in London or the one on offer in New York, you MUST complete Part One and Part Two of the application. Incomplete applications will be disqualified. The application deadline is midnight BST on 31st July 2020, and you can only apply for ONE location (either London or New York), not both.

London (two scholarships)
Complete both parts and submit to school@mcqueensflowers.com

New York (one scholarship)
Complete both parts and submit to SchoolNYC@mcqueensflowers.com,

Part One -

Family name
Given name
DOB
Address
Nationality
Country of residence
Contact Telephone
Email address
Length of time as an amateur florist
Length of time in professional floristry
Instagram account name (if private, we will request permission to see it)
Applying for London or New York

In no more than 300 words, tell us why you would like to win a scholarship, why the judges should select you, and how it will help your professional career. This can be in any format - email text, Word, or PDF.

Part Two -

Put together a mini-portfolio of images to show the judges some of your own work with flowers, and to show them how you think creatively. Don’t worry if you don’t have many images, or the quality isn’t as good as you’d like - our judges aren’t looking for professionals with years of experience - they’re looking for people who can show they have natural talent and creativity and the potential to successfully advance their career.

Your mini-portfolio can be in any file format you like (JPEG, Word, PowerPoint or PDF), but the file size must not exceed 20Mb in total.

Although not compulsory, the judges would love you to share images of some or all of your floral creations used in your mini-portfolio on Instagram. Simply tag your images with @mcqueensflowerschool and #floralscholarship

Winners will be informed by email and announced on social media on Wednesday 5th August 2020

All submissions from applicants will be reviewed by the McQueens International Flower School creative team who will determine 10 finalists for the two scholarship position at McQueens Flower School in London and 5 finalists for the bespoke training at McQueens Flowers New York. The scholars will be chosen randomly and all the runners up will receive 30% discount on the Vocational Course or One Week Course or any New York class.