Battle of the colleges

Students from Barking & Dagenham College and Waltham Forest College battled it out in a day of competitions.

With 70 students from both colleges were involved, the competitions spanned subject areas from beauty to cookery to health and electrics.

Learners from both colleges went head-to-head, either as part of a team or as an individual, in the competitions held at Barking & Dagenham College, judged by industry experts.

Hospitality competitors tested their knife skills doing chicken butchery and fishmongering. The students then cooked and served a delicious two-course lunch to around 70 special guests in the Chef’s Hat, the college’s public restaurant.

Over in the hair and beauty department, students had their hairdressing skills put to the test with competitions to create stunning hair styles.

Barking & Dagenham College Level 1 hairdressing student Debora Arthur, age 33, from Dagenham won the competition to create a hair up design incorporating plaiting and twisting. Debora said: “Success can be achieved by ordinary people with perseverance and determination

“One thing I have learned is, if you dare to challenge, you possess a chance of winning. It was a great opportunity to showcase my skills  in front of an industry professional and I am so excited my teacher chose me to be part of this challenging program”.

Fellow student Hanah Teklu, age 44, from Romford won the Level 2 competition to create an avant-garde hair up design with ornamentation.

Special judge, Danielle Everitt of Final Checks Makeup and Hair Academy in Romford said: “It was great to see all the students’ hard work and dedication to the competition. Some amazing hairstyles were showcased!”

The beauty therapy competition, sponsored by Clarins, saw students take part in a variety of challenges including performing a luxury manicure, leg wax, full body massage and facial.

Kristian Stepanou, age 16 from Romford and Gabrielus Liutkus, age 17 from Dagenham worked as a team to win the electrical wiring competition, judged by housebuilders and urban regenerators Countryside Partnerships. They bagged prizes including gift vouchers and work experience opportunity.

Kristian and Gabrielus said: “It was a great day and opportunity to compete against Waltham Forest students, especially in front of industry judges. It was really tense, but a great experience. We were proud to win and are excited about the work experience opportunity the company have offered.”

Mackenzie Ayres, 19 from Romford clinched victory in the plumbing competition, which was judged by Countryside Partnerships and Orchard Plumbing, who provided tools and gift vouchers for the winner.

The final medal tally was 9 wins to Barking & Dagenham College and 6 wins Waltham Forest College students.

Zoe Richardson, Skills Events and Development Manager, Barking & Dagenham College  explains: “It was a great opportunity for learners from both colleges to put their learning into practice and network with industry professionals. Well done to the students from both colleges for their fantastic attitude and hard work.”