After weeks of deliberation and four rounds of judging Denman’s College Star for 2026 has been announced. Libby Bowden of Collinge & Co Training has won a jackpot of £1000 cash and a hamper of tools worth £200 for her college. Libby’s beautiful blow-dry showed balance, volume and shine with a finish of soft curls. Libby beat over 750 other entrants to take the top prize and honourable mentions go to Ray Dobbs of Exceed Training and Ruby Crabtree of Wigan & Leigh College for their excellent work. College Star is now in its third year and each year the volume and quality of entries has continued to rise – making the judges jobs increasingly difficult!
Denman CEO Kevin McNamee says “This year truly blew us away. The quality of work demonstrated the rising standards in blow-dry skills evident in our future professionals. Our gratitude goes to all the amazing hairdressing tutors across the UK whose commitment to the next generation of hairdressers is unwavering. Mastering blow-dry skills is essential to a successful career and we are delighted that the College Star competition is now an established vehicle for giving students a focus to do just that.”
Tutor prizes this year went to Hannah Sullivan of Collinge & Co Training, the tutor of the new Denman College Star who won £250. Rebecca Harrison of Worsley College and Julie Carroll of Belfast Met College each tied for the prize of the greatest number of student entries and each has been awarded £250.
College Star – Denman’s Big Blowout Competition will be back on Monday 15th February 2027. Students can sign-up to be notified online College Star – Denman UK.