Disability didn’t stop Tara

Tara Richardson

A young woman from Milnrow with severe hearing difficulties is celebrating her educational achievements.

Tara Richardson, 20, has described herself as a “slow learner” however her hearing problems haven't stopped her from exceeding her goals.

Ms Richardson explains: “I didn’t have a great start to school life; when I was in primary school I was told I was almost deaf, my mum was deaf, too. So, from an early age, I struggled all the way through school life, always getting behind in things other students would find easy, basically I was just a slow learner.

“As I progressed into higher school, I was determined that I was going to do something with my life, so I tried really hard in everything I did. I didn’t do as well as I was hoped to in my GCSE’S because of a family death at the time, but was still very proud of what I had achieved.

“I knew exactly what it was I wanted to do after school; I had always been a girly girl, so I applied for the Beauty Therapy course at Hopwood Hall College, hoping I would start at level 2. However, but because of my GCSE results not being to the standard they should, I had to start at level 1.”

Ms Richardson didn’t let this setback deter her from achieving her goals. She worked her way through levels 1, 2 and 3 at College, passing every one of them.

When Ms Richardson first started College, she found it hard. However, she gained more and more confidence; especially through the experience she gained interacting with different clients in the College’s own ‘Image’ Beauty Salon.

“By the end of my studies at College, I was a very confident young lady; I knew what I wanted from life - to travel and see the world of the beauty industry. I had always been interested in the spa industry and also had a keen interest in maybe owning my own business one day,” said the determined young woman.

Ms Richardson is now studying Spa Management at Buxton University and hopes to work abroad in top spa.

“What was excellent about Hopwood Hall College was the support I received, the teachers where amazing and helped me through a lot of struggles. In particular, my Level 3 tutor Becki Bork was fantastic and helped me make the right decisions for my future.”

Ms Bork is very proud of her, she said: “Tara was a hard working student and she was dedicated to achieving her qualifications at College. She is an inspiration to all students, showing that with hard work you can exceed your life goals.”