City of Bristol College student Dayna Johnson fought off competition from across the country to win this year’s WorldSkills UK competition for Media Make-Up.

A student on the College’s Level 3 Diploma in Theatrical and Media Make-Up, Dayna won a bronze award in the South West heat before progressing to compete against the top scorers from other regional competitions in the national final.

Silver place was awarded to a second College student, Bryony Jones, who is also studying Theatrical and Media Make-Up.

Contestants had just four hours to complete a task using a bald cap, body art and hand made prosthetic pieces to a theme of ‘Life on Mars’.

Managed by UK Skills, the WorldSkills UK competitions encourage young people and adults across the country to excel in their vocational area and recognise those who have developed exceptional skills. The Media Make-up competition tested areas including application, technique and dramatic impact and required participants to create a look based on a specific theme.

Tara O’Hare, Theatrical and Media Make-Up Lecturer at City of Bristol College, commented: “The strong skills combined with a creative approach to the task helped Dayna beat some very tough competition. Both Dayna and Bryony have a natural ability for the art of bodypainting and airbrushing and I’m confident they will be very successful make-up artists.”

City of Bristol College’s Theatrical and Media Make-Up course teaches students the skills they need as a make-up artist in TV, theatre and film. Creating different looks including stage and character make-up, students also learn casualty simulation, prosthetics and special effects.

A not-for-profit organisation, UK Skills works to raise the profile of skills in the UK and oversees the WorldSkills UK competitions. All awards and competitions managed by UK Skills aim to showcase excellence and demonstrate how strong performance improves the success of both individuals and organisations.

Find out more about City of Bristol College’s Theatrical and Media Make-Up courses.