Beauty Students Take Over The Devonshire Spa

This week seven of our Level 3 Beauty Therapy students had the fantastic opportunity to experience working in a luxury spa when they took over The Devonshire Spa near Bolton Abbey for a day.

This unique collaboration, now in its second year, gave our students the chance for some amazing first-hand experience in the most beautiful of settings, whilst The Devonshire Spa had the chance to help shape the beauty therapists of the future, which fits perfectly with their ethos of training, wellbeing and development.

Booked guests had a choice of 60-minute treatments including full body massage or a gorgeous facial treatment using TEMPLESPA products and then two-hour access to the state-of-the-art vitality pool, sauna, steam room, rasul chamber, lounge, and of course the stunning outside spaces – although the weather was not the most inviting to spend time out of doors!

College students undertook every aspect of running a spa, from meeting and greeting their clients, offering and providing refreshments, and then conducting the all-important treatments.

Prior to the takeover we were delighted to welcome Martine O’Neill, Senior Spa Business Manager at TEMPLESPA back to campus to give a thorough guide to the products to be used on the day, and then an insightful and exciting introduction to careers within the industry.

Students and tutors also enjoyed a trip to Titanic Spa in Huddersfield to experience being clients at a spa – the perfect relaxing session whilst sampling being on the other side of treatments!

Michelle Gemmell, Assistant Spa Manager said, “The College takeover is such a good idea, because it gives students essential real-world experience of how things are run in a busy, luxury spa. From our point of view, we get to help develop beauty therapists of the future – and we find that clients who attend for treatments want to come back for more!”

Tracy Howarth, Lecturer in Beauty Therapy added “I am so proud of this group; it has been a delight watching their growth throughout the year and their work and commitment at The Devonshire Spa was incredibly rewarding to see. Each student brought something unique and together they created a relaxing and enjoyable environment for their clients. I am proud of what the learners have accomplished so far and excited for what’s to come in their journeys!”

Level 3 Beauty Therapy Student Honoria Swindells said, “I really looked forward to the takeover, this is the first time I have taken part. I wasn’t too nervous because we offer the treatments to clients every week at The Style Academy. I prefer offering facial treatments, because I am familiar with the products and have more experience.”

Clients and staff at The Devonshire Spa gave some wonderful feedback on the day, giving the students increased confidence in their abilities and the satisfaction of a job well done.

We are incredibly grateful to The Devonshire Spa for continuing to make vital experiences like this possible and we look forward to future collaborations. Find out more about Beauty Therapy at Craven College, and the exciting opportunities that await you.