Worksop: Student wows at media make-up contest with award-winning creation

Stacey Hughes came out top in the “Prep EM” competition with her mermaid creation, modelled by her friend and fellow student Emma Betts.

Stacey’s achievement means she will now be invited to partake in the UK final of the contest.

Stacey said: “I’ve really enjoyed the competition and didn’t feel too much under pressure with being assessed as have had previous experience with it.

“I also learnt new skills coming into the competition by making my own latex pieces, so I am really pleased with the result and to come first was just the icing on the cake.”

Prep EM, a new intiative hosted by North Nottinghamshire College, aims to make students “work ready” as they gain experience as part of the competition.

Ten students from the college, along with students from Chesterfield and Derby, were the first to take part and competed in the inter-college challenge to decide the winner of the East Midlands sub-regional.

Former media make-up student Sarah Harrison, who now works in the industry as a freelance make-up artist, was invited to judge the entries.

She said: “This is an excellent experience for the students as they have to think about health and safety and cleanliness whilst working in the real world and this will help them to incorporate it automatically into their training.

I have kept in touch with my Retford training roots since qualifying, and it is a real pleasure to be invited back as a judge for this competition.”