Students Gradute in Style!

Mario Failla helps out at Scotland Academies Graduation Show

April seems to have passed me by so quickly, at the beginning of the month my wife and I took a well deserved break to a remote part of Ireland with some close friends. Needless to say it was relaxing, even if the sun didn't shine.

I returned to work feeling refreshed and ready to answer all my awaiting e-mails and messages left during my abscence! I was thrilled to see I was booked on a flight to Glasgow to help organise the Graduation show for the 26 Week Beginner's Course at our Scotland Academies. I love visiting the Scotland Academies in Glasgow, it is in the heart of the city centre and the building has loads of character. Much like our London academy I always feel like its home away from home.

My fellow Art Team member Alex Girling had been there the week before helping them source some ideas for their show and to give them some handy tips on coping with all that needs to be done on the day! I arrived bright and early at 9am on the Wednesday morning ready for a hectic, fun filled and inspiring day.

The students were so friendly and made me feel welcome right away. Allyson Carr who heads the training for this intensive 26 week course had done a remarkable job, her students were full of enthusiasm and I could see they had been nurtured into aspiring young stylists.

We set a realistic agenda for the day, this helped with our time keeping and gave us a great opportunity to rehearse the show for our guests that evening. The theme for the show was "Iconic", the mood boards showed various images of icons such as Elvis Priestly and Sarah Harding to the Great Wall Of China and Egyptian Pyramids. This is always a great insight into the people and places they get their inspiration from. The hair produced did the theme great justice.

The students of course were a little nervous so Allyson and I found ourselves playing the roles of educator and councillor to keep everyone nice and calm. It's a great tribute to see how hard our NVQ educators work to take people who have had little or no experience as a hairdresser before and transform them into up and coming new talent within our industry. Once the models had their hair done, they were off to makeup! The Academies houses a commercial salon upstairs and senior member of staff Paul McGill was on hand to create some stunning work which really brought the whole image alive.

The show went off without a hitch and all that attended sent roaring applauses through the room as models entered and exited one after the other. The smiles on everyones faces, from staff to students, models to family members was a wonderful sight and tears were brought to a few eyes. This show symbolised the hard work, dedication and outstanding achievement the students had reached. The Academies Manager, Melissa Cook, as always supplied us with all we needed to make the show as professional as possible, from arranging a mini stage to buying the bubbly!

A huge thanks also needs to be given to Steven Evans, who took over from Allyson in her short absence, I know he had a fantastic impact on her group.