The Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), the global leader in drinks education, celebrated the outstanding achievements of its latest cohort of Level 4 Diploma in Wines graduates at its annual graduation ceremony and prize reception in London earlier this week.
A total of 714 new Diploma graduates from 2024/25 were honoured at the ceremony representing 45 countries across six continents. They join a global community of more than 14,500 WSET Diploma alumni shaping the future of the drinks industry worldwide.
Among the ceremony’s highlights was the presentation of WSET’s 2025 Outstanding Alumni Award to Cathy Marston DipWSET, recognising her outstanding contribution to expanding access to wine education across Africa.
The Outstanding Alumni Award, presented annually in partnership with JancisRobinson.com, celebrates the achievements of WSET's global alumni community. The 2025 award recognises an exceptional contribution to creating positive change within the global drinks community.
This year's winner, Cathy Marston DipWSET, is the co-owner of the International Wine Education Centre (IWEC) in South Africa. She became WSET's first Approved Programme Provider in Africa in 2011 and has since taught hundreds of students across seven countries. Her transformative work includes expanding access to qualifications through the Pinotage Youth Development Academy and breaking down financial and educational barriers for a new generation of wine professionals.
Cathy said: “I love teaching WSET and winning this award is fantastic. But I'm even happier about the possible knock-on effects – in Africa, a WSET qualification can literally change your life. Getting a WSET qualification opens up a world of opportunity, enabling students to get jobs on cruise ships, in restaurants and hotels around the world as well as meaningful employment in the South African wine and tourism industries.
“So my hope for winning this award is that the organisations who help make WSET available to as many people as possible – organisations like the Gérard Basset Foundation, the International Wine Challenge, South Africa Wine and WSET themselves – will all share my success, know that we couldn't do what we do without them and hopefully will carry on helping us do it!”
The full list of this year's prize winners, scholars, graduates and prize sponsors is detailed in the WSET Graduation Yearbook 2026 on WSET's website.