The competition is held annually, and is solely aimed at hairdressing students. Bolton College Level 2 apprentice Jenna Booth competed in the event; she was joined by students from colleges as far afield as Chesterfield and the Isle of Man.
The students were tasked with creating a commercial cut and colour look. Jenna gave her model, Ellie Hague, a striking plum coloured style, with the edges graduating to a light pastel hue.
Wella has a long-standing partnership with Bolton College. The College’s training salon is a Wella Centre of Excellence, and the College has also hosted heats of the Wella Xposure competition.
Sarah Bleackley, Head of Hairdressing at the College, said, ‘We were so excited to welcome back Wella to Bolton College. We have a fantastic relationship with Wella, so we are always happy to see them. The calibre of hairdressing was exceptional, and I was particularly impressed by the inspired style of Jenna’.
All competitors were treated to a Wella goodie-bag before watching the inspirational Francesco Group Art Team, who presented the latest innovations from Wella Professionals.
Jenna, who has been at Bolton College since September and works at KW Hairdressing & Beauty in Heaton, said, ‘I put a lot of thought and effort into styling Ellie’s hair, so I was really pleased with the finished result. It was also a great experience competing against such talented students’.
Rob Howse, a Technical Educator at Wella, said, ‘This event is huge, we’ve been all over the country this week, from Scotland down to Watford. It’s great to be back in Bolton’.
Five styles from each College and Training Academy were selected to go through to the finals, which will be held at Wella World Studio in London in June.