Surrey Colleges hairdressing competition features talent and creativity at all levels

Surrey Colleges Surrey’s Got Talent Hairdressing competition this week (Wednesday 13 March) featured amazing student talent and creativity at all levels.

The competition which saw participation from the Surrey FE group colleges - Activate Learning (Guildford College), Brooklands Colleges, East Surrey College and Nescot (North East Surrey College of Technology), is one of a series of joint activities planned by the group to highlight the value of collaboration between the educational institutions.

Nescot hosted the competition, which was open to Hairdressing Levels 1, 2 and 3 groups and divided into three themed categories: Level 1 – Night at the Oscars, Level 2 -Bridal and Level 3 – Avant-Garde. Our salons hummed with activity with around 70 competitors, both students and models from each college who were all keen to showcase their skills and abilities within the respective category time limits.

The judging panel included Dexter Dapper-Johnson, International Artistic Director from TONI & GUY; Alexander Hardy from Wonderful Life/Milkshake; Riccardo Insalaco, Creative Director from Nude Hair, Body & Soul Salon Ltd and Danielle Kichenside, Director from The Lavender Spa Ltd.

Winners:

• Nescot students, Natalie King clinched the top spot and Zoe Dearnlaney secured second place for the Level 3 group in the category Avant-Garde with their design theme of Sustainability. Nicole Tomczak from Brooklands College secured third place.
• In the Level 1 group for the category Night at the Oscars, students from Brooklands College secured all three positions - Leviska Roche won first place, Ruby Bird came second and Lavinia Wenman came third.
• For the Level 2 group in the category Bridal, the first place was won by Beth Townsend from Brooklands College, followed by Becky Wilson in second place and Adrian Janis in third, both from Activate Learning.

Prizes for the winners included vouchers and hair and beauty products from our sponsors with the first-place winners also receiving a shield.

Natalie, Hairdressing Level 3 student at Nescot who won first place for the Avant-Garde theme said, “It’s been a brilliant experience and one of the best days I've had in a long time. I wanted to highlight the importance of saving bees with my overall design which incorporated recycled plastic bottles that were turned into flowers. My model was my daughter and I was so proud to work with her. The guidance, challenge and time given by my tutors for this competition has been very helpful. I have learnt everything I know about hairdressing here at Nescot which has helped me achieve this award.”

“We are so happy and delighted for Natalie and Zoe,” said Lisa Charles, Curriculum Manager, Hairdressing and Beauty at Nescot. “We actively encourage sustainability and raise awareness amongst our students of the importance of recycling. We have started working with Green Salon Collective to recycle hair and foils from our salons.”

Lisa added, “It was a great day. All of the students and staff seemed to really enjoy the experience and all pulled together to make it so brilliant. Our students have made me very proud, they did so well and their work was exceptional. They were the perfect hosts with their professionalism and kindness.”

Julie Kapsalis, Principal and CEO of Nescot said, “Congratulations and well done to the winners and everyone who took part in the Surrey’s Got Talent Hairdressing competition which has been a real highlight of the year. This is a collaboration between the Surrey FE group colleges to, raise standards in hairdressing and teaching, work together to get the best for all our students collectively and share ideas and resources. It’s been a fantastic experience for the students to learn from each other and make new friends.”

Andry Waters, Head of Learning for Service Industries at Brooklands College said, “It was so lovely to see it all come together. All our students had a wonderful positive experience. We look forward to continuing to collaborate between our colleges, building on what we have started.”

Natalie Watkins, Programme Manager at East Surrey College added, “What a wonderful event! The students thoroughly enjoyed taking part. I was blown away with the level of talent.”

A short video of the competition can be seen here

‘Surrey FE’ Colleges group comprises Activate Learning (Guildford College), Brooklands College, East Surrey College and Nescot (North East Surrey College of Technology). The group’s purpose is to collaborate and discuss new ideas and initiatives for further education.