Students sparkle on night of hair spray, lip gloss and eye shadow

With her silver streaked curls carefully crafted into a flamboyant crown, the Snow Queen had judges shivering with delight at a hair and beauty show at Waltham Forest College on Wednesday.

Student Argentina Pavlou stunned the audience by adorning her model in a variety of shades of white, silver and pale grey to represent the winter season.

Not only did Argentina, 33, design the hair style herself, she also applied the make up and even hand stitched the intricate patterns to the white silk dress worn by her model, Luba Rasintova.

The skills she used in straightening, teasing and spraying her model’s hair into shape won her first prize in the adult hairdressing section of the show in which the four seasons was one of the themes.

“I have been up until the early hours every night for the past month working to perfect my Snow Queen look,” she said. “I am delighted it paid off for me.”

Luba said: “I am amazed with what Argentina achieved. This is all my own hair, no extensions or anything.”

Argentina is studying for a NVQ Level 2 qualification hairdressing, at the College in Forest Road, Walthamstow.

She had already studied make-up as part of a qualification in beauty therapy she achieved before taking this course. Now she has ambitions to become a hair and make up artist for stage and film.

“I have been working in the beauty business but I wanted to learn hairdressing because I enjoy providing a total look. Being able to do hair gives me a different vision to create.”

She was one of eight prize winners on the night in which students brought a touch of Hollywood and Bollywood glamour to the catwalk with strikingly bold displays of their make up and hairdressing skills.

A movie theme for the Level 2 Beauty Therapy prize allowed students to run riot with lip gloss, mascara, eye shadow and glitter.

They made up their models to look like a succession of movie characters including Bond girl Pussy Galore, Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, and several Bollywood princesses.

A Marilyn Monroe styled model even met Danny la Rue look-alikes on the night, as Drag Queens was another theme for level 2 hairdressing students.

Gods and Goddesses, Moulin Rouge, the 1980s, and Fairies completed the series of themes that allowed students to test their talents in designing a total look for their models.

Prizes were presented by the Mayor, Cllr Anna Mbachu, who was so impressed by the skills on show that she is planning to book hair and beauty treatments at the college’s four training salons which are open to the public.

She arrived wearing an outfit in an African print made for her by fashion design students at the college. “I attended the college’s fashion show last year and was so impressed by their ability I wanted the students to make something for me.

“Now I want them to do my hair and make up as well so I can be a walking advert for their talents. What I have seen tonight is wonderful.”

Head Hair Judge, Cheryl Tunca of the Phase II Hair Design Group commented:
“As usual the Annual Total Look Hair and Beauty Show hosted by Waltham Forest College was a huge success. Each year to see these fantastic looks being created by such young talent, still manages to amaze and inspire me.
The immagination, hard work and commitment of these students really showed in the creativity of the hair and make-up on display on the Cat Walk.”
Charmaigne Krokou, the College’s acting Head of School for Vocational Care which includes hairdressing and beauty therapy, said the judges included representatives from the industry.

“We had local salon owners among the twelve judges and this was an excellent opportunity for the students to showcase the skills they have acquired.”

Hairdressing and beauty therapy courses are continuing to expand at the College. Claire Shire, the College’s Director of Young People’s Learning, said: “We have growing numbers of part-time students who are trying to improve themselves in these tough economic times.

“We also offer a range of full and part time courses from Level 1 (Entry Level) to Level 3 (A-level equivalent) as well as offering apprenticeships to young learners.

“From September we will be offering the new diploma course to pupils aged 14 to 16. Local schools value this opportunity for their learners to follow this vocational route.”
She said the courses offer a variety of opportunities for students to progress into a wide range of careers. “Most of our students go into the industry but we do have some who go to university to study salon management,” she added.

WALTHAM FOREST COLLEGE STUDENTS IMPRESS TOP CATERING PROFESSIONALS

Hotelympia 2010 was a source of inspiration for students at Waltham Forest College. This prestigious catering event held on 28 February to 4 March, takes place once every two years, and is attended by some of the most famous celebrity chefs, Head Chef at Bohemia Bar & Restaurant, Michael Godfrey, Executive Head Chef at Bekynton, Eton College and Tim Payne, Head Chef at The Paradise By Way of Kensal Green, Proprietor and Executive Chef of the Café Spice Namasté, Cyrus Todiwala, and major international suppliers for the industry.

The College’s hospitality and catering students worked alongside the House of Commons Culinary Team, at the Dudson Restaurant, as part of a competition hosted by Hotelympia, called the La Parade des Chefs, which provided a fine dining experience for those who attended the event. During this five-day exhibition these students were given the opportunity to demonstrate their hospitality skills, and impress some of the top names in the industry, by staffing the Dudson restaurant filled with a hundred diners, from Lexington Catering Ltd.

Waltham Forest College were very proud to be one of only two colleges in the country to help host these restaurant events, along with Westminster Kingsway.

Peter Stone, Catering and Operations Manager commented, “The College’s hospitality and catering students this year gained three Gold and one Silver medal, which is a fantastic achievement. The School of Service Industries gained fantastic feedback on our students’ service this year. There were many great comments by organisers and diners such as: “These students are a real credit to you,” “The best students we have had at Hotelympia.”, “They are so friendly and helpful.”

The students had a great experience and one which they will remember for many years to come. This will be something they will proudly include on their CVs. Learners will now all be issued with a certificate, which will be presented at the annual awards for Service Industries evening in May/ June 2010.

MaryJo Hoyne Head of School for Service Industries, said, 'WFC was delighted to support one of the hospitality industries largest exhibition events, the catering and hospitality students delivered an excellent service for the event.'

Sebnemmarasali, hospitality and catering Student Level 1 said, “It was a really good opportunity to practice my customer service skills in a top class restaurant setting.”

28/02/10

The Olympic dream gets closer for Waltham Forest College students

Lee Mathurin


A student at Waltham Forest College who has high hopes of taking part in the Olympic Games got a close up view of the arena where he aims to be competing in two years time.

Lee Mathurin was among a group of 26 students from the college who were taken on a tour of the Olympic site in Stratford to witness the progress being made in building the Games venues.

Lee, 20, is studying business at the college, but at evenings and weekends he is training hard to pursue his dream as an athlete.

He is a promising discus thrower, with his national ranking reaching as high as second in the country at junior level.

Lee took up the sport while a student at Woodbridge High School in Woodford Green. “In a games lesson I picked up a discus one day and the PE teacher was impressed with how far I threw it,” he said.

“He told me I should take it up competitively and encouraged me to join the Woodford Green with Essex Ladies athletics club.

“I have represented England at junior level and have been ranked in the top ten in the country every year since I started competing.

“I have also appeared on a prediction list of athletes who will compete at the Olympics in 2012, so I do believe I have a chance. To appear in an Olympic Games on my home turf would be the biggest achievement of my life.”

This will be his first year competing at senior level and he hopes to improve on his personal best throw of 48 metres in competition, though he said he has thrown 52 metres in training.

“The qualifying distance for 2012 is likely to be around 65 metres, but I believe I can achieve that if I train hard,” he added.

If he does achieve his goal he will have Roger Bannister, the first man to run a mile in under four minutes, to thank. Lee, from Navestock Crescent, Woodford Green, explained: “He was a coach at the club and he helped me out a lot.

“My mum had just been made redundant and he helped me out with funding so I was able to buy shoes and other equipment. Without his support I don’t reckon I would have got as far as I have.”

Meanwhile he is working hard to pass his Advanced National Diploma (equivalent to three A-levels) in business to enable him to achieve his other dream of going to university to study to be an architect.

Lee joined a group of mostly travel and tourism students and teachers who were taken on a guided tour of the Olympic site which is expected to attract up to 800,000 visitors each day of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

They were shown the progress being made on the construction of the main arenas and the Olympic village which will house 15,000 athletes from 205 nations.


Students going on the Olympic site tour

Dulux Decorator Centre's Search For ‘Apprentice Of The Year’

The search is on once again to find Dulux Decorator Centres’ Apprentice of the Year 2010, and the national competition, will be making a stop at Waltham Forest College, on 25th March 2010.

The Dulux Decorator Centres’ Apprentice of the Year competition is in its third year and the 2010 competition is expected to be bigger and better, especially as it has become a recognised and permanent feature in the painting & decorating industry’s calendar. The competition aims to reward the skills and creativity of talented apprentices and is calling for painting & decorating companies and colleges across East London to put forward their top students.

The Dulux Decorator Centres’ Apprentice of the Year 2010 competition is open to apprentices aged between 17 and 24 years of age on a recognised painting and decorating course and studying an NVQ or SVQ level two or three, alongside working in the industry.

Kerrilee Jay store manager of the East London Dulux Decorator Centre on Thornham Grove, commented: “We are really looking forward to the 2010 Apprentice of the Year competition to start. Last year was a huge success and we really want to have a record number of entries this year. The competition is a great opportunity for apprentices to showcase their skills and raise their profile within the industry, and what’s more the prize will also help to establish the winners’ career, so I would recommend colleges and painting & decorating companies put forward their top apprentices.”

The competition aims to provide painting and decorating students with a challenging, but fun and practical competition. Each student will be tasked with a series of practical applications, comprising various elements of painting and decorating, covering wallpapering, stencilling, waterborne glosses, and special effects.
The winner of the East London heat will go on to compete against eight other regional winners in the national final, which will take place at Leeds College on the 17th June 2010, where the overall winner will be crowned ‘Dulux Decorator Centres’ Apprentice of the Year 2010’ at an awards presentation.

The winner will receive £1,000 cash and a variety of other prizes, including a Red Letter Day, Nectar points and Dulux training and a host of prizes for their college for all painting and decorating students to use. There will also be runners up prizes of £500 and £250, plus £100 worth of Dulux Decorator Centres vouchers each, for those finishing in overall second and third place. Individual regional heat winners will win £100 each, a certificate and a Dulux Decorator Centre goody bag packed with fantastic products donated by Dulux Decorator Centre’s suppliers.

The deadline for entries into the regional heats is Friday 26th February and all applicants should contact their lecturer and register through their painting and decorating college.

For further information visit http://www.duluxdecoratorcentre.co.uk/ or for regular updates join the Facebook group - Dulux Decorator Centres or follow on Twitter at DuluxDecCentre.