Students from Bracknell & Wokingham College celebrated the official opening of hair salon Harmony Plus on Friday by inviting guests along so they could try out their skills.

The idea for a graduate salon came about after several ex-students decided they needed a space in which to continue perfecting their technique and allowing them and other qualified students to gain invaluable work experience.

The salon had a steady flow of people throughout the day and salon manager Tracey Martin said she was thrilled with the turnout.

She said: “We’ve taken lots of bookings already and everybody seems to be having a great time. We wanted to do this event to invite people in so they could find out what it’s all about.

“The styling is done by students who have completed their level 3 hairdressing qualification and who have come back – volunteering their time – so they can gain more experience, improve their technique and generally keep their hand in while looking for permanent work within a salon or maybe starting their own business.” Charlotte Bailey, 19, a volunteer hair stylist for the salon and an ex-student, said: “This is a really exciting project to be a part of. The salon is giving us practical experience on a more independent basis which means we can include what we do here on our CVs as real work experience, which will obviously help us in looking for permanent work.”