Meet Grace, one of our level 2 Certificate in Women’s Hairdressing students. Grace successfully completed our Level 1 Hairdressing course last year and after smashing her end of year exams, she progressed on to our Level 2 course for 2024 and was looking forward to working with real clients in our public-facing, student-run salon, The Retreat.
Grace has achondroplasia, which means she is shorter than the average height. This has caused her to face some challenges during her time at North Hertfordshire College, but she has done so with great success, determination, and positivity.
Grace didn’t let these challenges stop her from completing her Level 1 qualification last year, she used steps and stools in her working areas – proving that her height was not a barrier to creating beautiful looks.
For her Level 2 course this year, we adapted one of The Retreat’s in-house hair appointment stations with walk-around staging. This allowed Grace to fully access her clients without restriction, using the same industry-standard tools and equipment as her peers.
This year, Grace was keen to gain some work-experience to boost her industry knowledge and insight. Grace’s incredible work throughout this year made it easy for her tutors to ‘sell’ her skills to local Letchworth salon, The Little Hair Boutique.
Salon owner, Lucy, met with Grace, her mum, and our Inclusion Assistant, Laura, to discuss Grace’s placement. After this chat, Lucy was keen to offer Grace a salon-based, individual work placement at her salon, and made it clear that Grace’s height would not prevent her from getting the full experience.
Lucy gave Grace a schedule of salon-based tasks for her to complete over her 30-hour placement, helping to compliment her curriculum learning and offer opportunities for personal development.
Grace quickly settled into her new role and became a valuable addition to the team every Friday. She excelled in all aspects of working in the salon, and Lucy and the team loved her positive, ‘go-getting’ attitude.
After Grace completed her work experience placement, Lucy commented:
“Grace was a pleasure to have with us. There are lots of challenges for Grace and she managed to overcome them by helping with lots of other duties, like keeping the salon tidy, making coffee, answering the telephone and making appointments. We wish Grace all the luck in the world for her future.”
Grace scored her work placement a perfect 5 stars, she said:
“I really enjoyed working at the salon. Lucy and the other girls were lovely and very welcoming. I got an idea of how a salon runs and how important timing is in a salon with all the appointments fitting in with each other across different stylists and treatment bookings”.
Grace’s continued demonstration of unwavering determination, resilience and positivity did not go unnoticed. Course Team Leader, Coral, recognised Grace’s achievements by awarding her the title of Women’s Hairdressing Level 2 Student of the Year 2023-24.
A huge congratulations to Grace for her fantastic achievements throughout this year!
Could you follow in Grace’s footsteps?
Stay Close, Go Far – explore Hairdressing, Barbering and Beauty Therapy at North Hertfordshire College.