Four Edinburgh College Hair & Beauty students have made the cut in a UK-wide hairdressing competition, taking home six awards at the regional heats and qualifying for the national final.
Students from colleges across Scotland unleashed their scissors skills for battle to be crowned best in their category in the first stage of the Association of Hairdressing and Therapists (AHT) Awards.
Edinburgh College final-year HNC Hairdressing students Danielle Clark and Lesley Fox picked up gold medals in the Fantasy and Commercial Men’s Cut and Finish categories of the heats, held at Coatbridge High School. And Level 2 and 3 Hairdressing students Kay Corbet and Claire Miller took home silver in their categories, including Gender Transformation and Advanced Skills.
All the medallists have qualified for the UK national AHT Awards finals in Blackpool next month.
Danielle won the judges over in the Fantasy category for the three-foot high fantastical hairstyle she perfected on her model (pictured). She will compete in two categories at the finals – Advanced Skills and Avant Garde.
She said: “I was completely shocked at receiving first place as there were more than 25 entries. The standard was really high and I was nervous my look wouldn’t be enough to wow the judges.
“I spent weeks mastering the style and also had to body paint my model, with only 30 minutes on the day to get it right.”
Lesley was the cream of the crop in the Commercial Men’s Cut and Finish category, using her best scissor skills under pressure on the day. This was her first time competing.
She said: “It was honestly an unforgettable experience. Within such a small team, and up against hundreds of students from other colleges, we managed to win so many medals.”
Jackie Steele, Hair and Beauty lecturer at the college, said: “All of the competition team were amazing and did us proud. I was especially pleased with the Fantasy results as this was a huge section and we bagged first and second places.
“Danielle took a year out from the course to work and came back with a vengeance – she’s now one of the most talented and driven learners we have.”
The students are now preparing for the national finals, which will take place in the Winter Gardens in Blackpool on 13 and 14 March, joining finalists from England and Wales. Competition categories across the weekend will include everything from Avant Garde to Ladies’ Fashion Cut.
Edinburgh College is one of two Scottish colleges to be recognised as a Wella Centre for Excellence. The college is welcoming applications for a range of August start Hair and Beauty courses that offer on the job learning in professional training salons. Apply now here: http://www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/Courses/
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