Borders College beauty students set sights on ‘nailing’ a place in national qualifiers

Two Borders College Beauty Therapy students are hoping to make it through to the National Qualifiers, having recently entered in to the Beauty Therapy World Skills Competition.

Students, Connie Lothian, who is from Denholm, along with model Kayleigh Scott, from Newcastleton, and Chloe Thomson, from Denholm, along with model Caitlan McGregor, of Hawick, all studying on the Beauty Therapy Level 2 course, have spent a number of weeks brushing up their skills and preparing for the competition, which focuses on hand and face categories.

The initial part of the competition started at the end of last month and involved the students submitting a photographic entry for initial assessment. They spent the day preparing their models to a high standard and professional photographer Phil Wilkinson was invited in to photograph the finished results. Phil spent the afternoon setting up various photo shoots, which highlighted the best of the student work. The final pictures were then submitted to the competition for assessment.

The work of the students is now in the hands of the judges, and they face an anxious wait to see if they have been invited to the National Qualifiers, which will take place this summer. If they qualify, and are successful, they will be invited to participate in the UK National Final at the NEC in November this year, as part of WorldSkills UK LIVE.

This all follows on from the recent success of the Hairdressing and Fashion Make-up students at the AHT finals in Blackpool, where the students brought home six awards, and the Beauty students will be hoping to emulate this.

Curriculum Learning Manager Heather Fisher commented:

“Following on from the recent success of the Hairdressing and Fashion Make-up students at the AHT finals in Blackpool, we thought it would be a great idea for the Beauty Therapy students to be entered in to their own competition. The students have been working exceptionally hard over the last month or so and their efforts have shown some excellent results. The work the students created on the day of the photo shoot was outstanding and the final photographs highlighted this. We should know whether we have qualified or not by 3rd May, and look forward to hearing from the judges. Fingers crossed we make it!”

Lecturer Gail Pow commented:

“This is a great opportunity for the students to showcase their skills. The work they have put in to the competition is second to none and we hope they can secure a place in the next stage. The photo shoot was a great experience for both students and lecturers and we are very excited to hear the feedback from the judges.” 

We wish the students the best of luck!