Independent funeral directors A.W. Lymn The Family Funeral Service, which operates 27 funeral homes throughout Nottinghamshire and South Derbyshire, is celebrating after two members of passed National Association of Funeral Directors exams.

The qualifications were awarded to Nikki Anderson, who passed her DipFAA (Diploma in Funeral Arranging and Administration), and Andrew Brown, who gained his DipFD (Diploma in Funeral Directing).

Andrew, who has worked for A.W Lymn for nearly three years and is at its West Bridgford funeral home, will be directing his first funeral in the coming weeks.

He said: “I’m delighted to have passed what is known to be, within our profession, a very challenging benchmark of both general good practice and of excellent care for the bereaved.

“The five modules of the diploma are extremely detailed and cover the evolving role of the funeral director in the 21st Century, focusing on topics such as military funerals, bequeathal, repatriation and exhumation. It’s not just an academic qualification – it’s a practical one that demands that you put all that you’ve learned, witnessed and absorbed into practice in order to pass.

“I feel that the DipFD is a true accolade to obtain and it really is a privilege to be able to look after and care for people in their darkest hours in the confidence that I have the knowledge and training to meet their every need.”

Nikki, who has worked at A.W. Lymn’s Ilkeston funeral home for three years and is also a trained florist, added: “I’m also completely over the moon that I’ve passed my DipFAA – which has certainly been hard work, but is certainly worth every minute of study. I’m keen to move on to doing my DipFD as soon as I can.

“My career is so rewarding – you can’t really put into words what it means to be there to support people in such times of need. Having this qualification under my belt gives me more confidence and motivation to keep doing all I can to best support families in making funeral decisions in the days following a death.”

Funeral director and NAFD accredited tutor Dominic Lister, who has worked for A.W Lymn for more than a decade, said he was proud of both Andrew and Nikki for upholding the business’s 100% pass rate for the NAFD exams. In the last three years, Dominic has tutored 12 A.W Lymn staff through the DipFAA and four through the DipFD.

The company said that the pair’s success helped to highlight the benefits of turning to a trusted, reputable and long-standing family business when planning a funeral.