TRANSCRIPT
Armed with clippers and ambition, Bass High School in Sydney's southwest is turning boys into barbers.
R'n'B music is pumping while students are both manning the scissors and sitting in the customer chairs, getting a fresh haircut from their peers.
Built behind a classroom, it's the last place you'd expect a vibrant hair salon - but this is a typical morning in class for high school students. Overseeing the shop is Charles Lomu, who mentors the dozens of students in a 10-week program for teenagers aged between 14 and 17.
“We have students in the barbering program learning how to cut hair and the girls in the program learning how to braid here. So we have students in the school coming in and getting their hair done by students in the program for free as well”.
Head teacher of student engagement Mona Hamed championed the program at the end of last year, in conjunction with not-for-profit group, ACE.
It's specially designed for those who are often absent or suspended, at risk of breaking the law, or are uninterested in graduating school.
“Some of our students have experienced complexities, relating to violence, displacement, economic disadvantage which often implicates their educational journey and so because of that at Bass,we try to reinforce the importance of education and try to create relevance in the barbering and braiding programs.”
To stay in the program, students have to stay away from suspensions, show manners and come to class on time. According to those students, those conditions are working a charm.
Male: "Like, when I'm cutting hair, I can talk with them, just asking them how their day was. It's just a good environment all round."
Male: "It makes me feel good because I used to always get into fights but now I stay away from that."
Female: "I definitely became more confident. I enjoy doing the hair and talking with them, it's very good."
Male: "Before the program I didn't really know, I had no plan in life. But after the program, I felt like a hobby and wanted to properly study."
The school already has students trained at their own commercial cafe, and is now working on building an auto shed, too.
Careers advisor Samia Chami says the school is setting teenagers up with skills that go beyond fades and braids.
“There's a huge opportunity for career pathways for these students. Yes, it's a barbering and hairdressing salon, however students don't just enter the program because they want to be a barber or a hairdresser. We try to build their employability skills that can be transferred into the workforce, giving them a plethora of opportunity to access employment outside, if they choose to leave school.”
School principal, Martin Toaetolu, says while he knew there would be interest in the salon, he was taken aback by the sheer scale of popularity it's garnered.
“Some of these students haven't touched clippers before, they certainty didn't have a knowledge of hairdressing or barbering, being able to see them engage with purpose and relevance has made such a big difference.”
And these students haven't just learned to cut and braid here. They're also taking their skills outside the school gates.
One of them is Angelo Rodi, who was invited to the program when he was a Bass High student.
“I was always in and out of trouble, suspensions, detentions, to get the attention of other people. I eventually got in trouble with the law and that was really an eye opener for me. It made me connect to myself, find out who I am, what I'm good at.“
He's only 16 years old, but Angelo secured a full time job while getting work experience at a local salon. He says the program offered him a launchpad into life he never dreamed would be possible at school.
“I've never thought there would be a barber shop. I didn't even know that could happen. I just said, you know what? I'd do it, I'll try it out and I really felt a connection to barbering. The opportunities were always there in your life and it's just up to me to take them. I've been sick of being that old version of myself, trying to impress others and started actually doing things for myself.”
Where many teenagers in Sydney's west feel like the outside world is against them, within the four walls of Bass High's hair salon, anything is possible.
