WIRRAL students brought home medals at a UK skills competition.

Students from Wirral Met College’s hairdressing and media departments secured silver and bronze at the WorldSkills UK National Finals.

Held in Manchester the competition saw more than 500 students and apprentices taking part across 51 categories culminating in the announcement of the winners at a glittering awards ceremony on Friday, November 17 at The Manchester College’s City Campus.

Gill Banks, Principal and CEO of Wirral Met College said: “We are incredibly proud of our students who have demonstrated professionalism, skill and tenacity throughout this competition.

“To have achieved bronze and silver medals in a competition as prestigious as the WorldSkills UK Finals is an incredible achievement, and a testament to the continued professional growth of our students, and the dedicated effort and guidance of their tutors.”

The competitions are designed by industry experts and help young people to develop the skills that employers need in their workplace. Competing on a national and global level in their field of expertise, the finals, welcome only the top students and apprentices within their category from across the UK.

Wirral Met creative media students Rhys McCann and Izzabella Hughes secured bronze for their project to develop their own water brand, whilst Melissa Wood took home silver in the Foundation Skills Hairdressing competition for her skills in hairstyling, ornamentation, styling and continuity of design.

The wins placed Wirral Met College in the top five for Foundation Skills medal points in the UK and the only Liverpool City Region College to make it onto the top organisation leader board.

Worldskills UK is a global competition that tests students’ skills in vocational subjects over a seven-month period including regional heats and intensive training before stepping up to the ultimate test of the National Finals.

Each year, students aged 16-18 from Wirral Met compete in regional heats to qualify for the WorldSkills UK competition, displaying the skills they have gathered during their time at college in their curriculum area.