News reports located on this page = 2.

Hugh Baird College hosts brand new apprentice of the year competition!

HUGH Baird College recently hosted 1 of 6 Regional heats throughout England and Wales for a brand new nationwide competition for trainee hairdressers across the country. The Concept Hair Apprentice of the Year competition saw salon owners, training managers and College lecturers enter students and apprentices into a series of live competitions to give the students the chance to show off their skills, creativity and flair across 5 distinct categories:- styling, hair up, barbering, colouring and avant garde. The winners of each category then qualified for the Grand Final at the L'Oréal Professional Academy, in London, in March, where they will compete to be named the 1st ever Concept Hair Apprentice of the Year. Category themes included:- Peaky Blinders, The Great Gatsby, prom hair and 'fire and ice.'

Jodie McCormick, Hugh Baird College Curriculum Manager for Hairdressing, said:- "We were really thrilled to have the opportunity to host this year's Concept Hair Apprentice of the Year competition at Hugh Baird College. Staff and students from Colleges across the country enthusiastically participated in the day's activities and some fantastic work was produced, pushing the boundaries of creative hairdressing and show casing the amazing talent of our future stylists. We look forward to next year's event."

Trisha McKenna, Hugh Baird College BTEC Level 2 Hairdressing student, said:- "When I heard about the Concept Hair Apprentice of the Year competition I wasn't sure I was ready to enter, however I found out there was an avant garde category which completely changed my mind as I thoroughly enjoy the creative side of both hair and makeup so for me this category was perfect. I really threw myself into preparations, planning, researching and hand making all my costume and props. On the day I was so nervous but equally excited, I felt prepared and couldn't wait to get started. Being able to do a full transformation and get really creative was the highlight of the day for me. The atmosphere was amazing and the quality and talent from other competitors was unreal. Although I didn't win, I am glad I entered the competition, it gave me insight into how the industry works and the standard of work that is expected. Now I know what is expected, I will be back next year, even more prepared and ready to take 1st place."

Emily Hilton, Concept Hair Event Manager, said:- "We had an absolutely amazing time at Hugh Baird College for the 1st ever Concept Hair Apprentice of the Year North West heat. We had our biggest numbers yet and the venue looked spectacular. It was a fantastic experience for everyone involved. Congratulations to all of our winners from the day; there were some amazing looks on show and we can't wait to see them all again at the Grand Final."

For more information on Hairdressing or Barbering courses at Hugh Baird College, please visit:- HughBaird.AC.UK or alternatively, please call:- 0151 353 4444.

Liverpool's Schools hit the mark

SCHOOLS across Liverpool have been honoured for their hard work in encouraging children to do the best for their own future by staying in the classroom. Liverpool faces a challenge when it comes to driving up School attendance; absence rates for the City are higher than the national average. The City also fares poorly when compared to many of the country's other major Cities in terms of absence from School.

In 2019 more than ½ a million School days were lost to absence in the City; that's the equivalent of 10 days out of School for every pupil. Whilst 270,000 of these days were lost to sickness, more than 200,000 of these days were classed simply as:- 'unauthorised.' A further 50,000 days were lost to children being taken out of School during term time for family holidays.

With research by the Department for Education suggesting that every day out of School can have a negative impact on a child's GCSE grades, partners across Liverpool are committed to doing all they can to get as many children as possible into School every day. Working in partnership, School Improvement Liverpool and the Liverpool Learning Partnership, with support from Liverpool City Council, have created the Attendance Quality Mark scheme. Schools signing up for the scheme work towards achieving bronze, silver or gold standards of the quality mark by showing that they have the processes in place to tackle absence and promote attendance.

Research by the Liverpool Learning Partnership has shown that Schools taking part in the quality mark scheme improve attendance and reduce absence at a faster rate than those who do not. Recently 19 Primary and Secondary Schools that have worked through the programme, achieved the quality mark and are now seeing improvements in attendance were honoured for their achievements at a special ceremony.

Liverpool Learning Partnership will be holding a briefing session for Schools, on Thursday, 27 February 2020, where education professionals can find out more about the AQM and how to take part. For more information visit:- LiverpoolLearningPartnership.Com.

Liverpool City Council's Cabinet Member for Education Employment and Skills, Cllr Barbara Murray, said:- "The Council and its partners are committed to raising standards and providing the best opportunities for our children and young people. We can only do this by making sure that they are in School and ready to learn. Congratulations to all those Schools who have made the mark, they are making a real difference to the future prospects of children in our City."

Adam Kewn, who is the attendance lead at Heygreen Primary in Wavertree was 1 of those on hand to pick up the quality mark on behalf of the School. Adam said:- "Attendance was a big issue for us, it was a real concern that children weren't in and weren't learning. Over the last few years we have been trying to raise attendance through a lot of initiatives and working with our families. The work for the quality mark helped us to focus this work and gave us some great ideas. As a result we are seeing an upward trend in attendance, we can talk positively with our families about attendance and feel more comfortable in challenging non-attendances. Thanks to the quality mark, we are seeing great progress."