Sonia Sutcliffe has got success cut and dried after joining a Calderdale College hairdressing course and winning an Adult Learners Award for her achievement. She will receive her award of £100 from NIACE (the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education) at a ceremony in Doncaster on Saturday.

Hairdressing was something Sonia, now 63, had wanted to do all her life but, with a 20-year career as a warden in sheltered housing (the last 15 at Shaw Lodge in Halifax), four children and seven grandchildren, she never found the time until she retired in 2003.

“I thought, do I really want to sit on the couch watching TV all day or try something I really want to do?”, says Sonia who still lives at Shaw Lodge where she works in a voluntary capacity. “I’ve always cut my family’s hair but wanted to learn professional skills.”

Sonia joined the two-year NVQ level two hairdressing course at Calderdale College, qualifying in both hairdressing and barbering last Christmas.

“My first day was an ordeal – being a 61-year-old going into a salon with 16, 17 and 18-year-olds was nerve wracking, but my family persuaded me to give it at least a month and by then I was hooked. I have never known such nice, respectful teenagers and the tutors were very, very supportive all the way through. I’m hoping to carry on and do a manicure and pedicure course now. If anyone else my age is thinking about going back to college I’d say “Go for it!” It gives you more confidence and a real boost.”

Tutor Joanne Gas said “Sonia thoroughly deserves this award. She kept going even when she had to care for her mother who was very ill and has been an inspiration to the younger students. She got stuck in and handed her work in on time and to a high standard”.

Sonia’s daughter Carol Crawshaw, 36, has also been inspired by her mother’s example and started the NVQ level two hairdressing course herself in January. “I’m a single parent with a five-year-old daughter and needed to do something to progress and get out of the house. Mum encouraged me to go to college and is helping out with Molly”, she says.

The Adult Learners Awards are part of national Adult Learners Week (21 – 27 May). Details of events and tasters throughout Calderdale are available from the Community Development Team at Calderdale College on 01422 357357 ext. 9193 during office hours.