Rotherham College takes part in student exchange with Japanese Beauty College

Rotherham College has been working in partnership with Yamano Beauty College in Japan to give Hair and Beauty students the opportunity to experience the techniques and traditions of different cultures. Hair and Media Make-up student Emily Smith was chosen to take part in a trip to the Japanese beauty college after winning a gold medal at World Skills UK last year.

During the week-long trip, which was Emily’s first abroad, she and her tutor Anne took part in hairdressing and make-up classes at the Beauty College, as well as sightseeing in Tokyo, visiting Disneyland and attending a Urasenke Tea Ceremony, complete with traditional kimono dress.

As part of the visit Emily entered an international competition at the Beauty College, which showcased the different styles of working of students from across the world. With a ‘party make-up’ theme, Emily had 20 minutes to create her look and was one of the first European students to take part the competition.

Emily opted to use gold leaf and holographic eyeliner to compliment her British themed dress, created by students and tutors on the BA (Hons) Fashion degree course at Rotherham College.

“Everyone in the College has been really supportive and there has been a lot of people helping behind the scenes,” Hair and Beauty Lecturer Anne said. “From booking the flights to designing the model’s outfit, it has been a collaborative project.”

Alongside Emily’s visit to Japan, students from the Yamano Beauty College have also been studying at Rotherham College.

Their stay is designed to give them a mixture of experiences; they learn everything from prosthetic make-up to commercial hairdressing, whilst also building their English and Communication skills by socialising and working on projects with other students.

Students Nina, Haruna and Mina have been staying with local families and are fully immersed in student life; taking an active part in activities alongside other students. They began their visit by taking part in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) lessons to improve their confidence in classes and have also taken part in work placements at Rotherham based salon Darc’r Gets Toxic and Sheffield salon Wigs and Warpaint.

Rotherham College is working with Yamano Beauty College to arrange for further groups of students to take part in future exchanges and hope to create more exciting new opportunities with the Japanese College.

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