Rebecca Basford, a hairdressing student from Bedford, was crowned FE Sector Learner of the Year (2005) by famous gardner, presenter and gardner Alan Titchmarsh at the UK Awards ceremony at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

The 20-year-old student became interested in hairdressing while working as a beauty therapist. Since embarking on her hairdressing qualifications, Rebecca has won the UK Hairdressing Student of the Year for two years running in 2003 and 2004, something that has never been achieved by the same person before. She also reached the finals of the Pantene Pro-V Awards in 2003, which was held in the Royal Albert Hall.

Rebecca’s achievements have led her to win a PR contract to work alongside celebrity hairdresser Errol Douglas on a photo-shoot for Hairdressers Journal.

On hearing she secured the title, a thrilled Rebecca said: “It’s amazing, I’m very shocked. I was hoping that I could win, but I didn’t expect to.This (award) is the major one. The others were all from the industry but this is about my training. This is where it all started so it means a lot.”

Awarded for her work on City & Guilds’ NVQ Hairdressing Level 3, Rebecca studied for her qualification at Bedford College.

Presenting the awards, famous gardener, broadcaster and author Alan Titchmarsh congratulated Rebecca on the professionalism and enthusiasm she brings to her craft: “Rebecca clearly has vision and drive. She is an excellent role model for aspiring hairdressing students,” he said. “I would like to congratulate Rebecca and wish her every success for the future.”

Each year, City & Guilds selects around 100 of its 750,000 eligible candidates to win Medals for Excellence. Only eight of these 100 winners are presented with UK Awards at the Oscar-style ceremony in London - to celebrate the very best of who have gone the extra mile to complete their qualification.