Beauty & Aesthetics

There's a lot to learn here, but your confidence grows as you move on from practising with colleagues to working on real clients.

I'm benefitting from the more relaxed atmosphere and that I have more time to focus on one subject. You're given independence and flexibility around deadlines, as there's understanding if you have challenges in your life.

My plan is to do the Level 2 Hairdressing course to give me more options when I go on to Level 3, whether it's another course or an apprenticeship.

Sammy joined Utopia Beauty Salon, based in Abingdon, in June 2015 after qualifying from the Level 3 course at the College, and has now been promoted to Head Therapist and Salon Manager.

Having worked in another salon for the past year before joining Utopia, Sammy was looking for something more local and they couldn't wait to snap her up.

Sammy was awarded Student of the Year for Level 2 Beauty Therapy in 2014, as well as Student of the Year for Level 3 Beauty Therapy in 2015, and also took part in the Beauty Therapy WorldSkills UK competition in 2015.

Her quiet yet bubbly nature sees her fit in just perfectly with the rest of the team, and makes for a fantastic therapist.

While studying at Abingdon & Witney College, I enjoyed meeting people who had the same interests as me and the same passions as me, and I know I've made friends for life on my courses.

My tutors were lovely and did all they could to make sure I passed with flying colours; when I came across any problems or challenges, it was explained and shown to me in a way I would understand.

Since leaving college, I have started at Swindon College studying media makeup further and working towards my HND and eventually my BA.

I would like in the future to be a fully-qualified makeup artist, and one of my career dreams would be to see my name in the credits at the end of a Marvel movie!