South Tyneside College is celebrating a remarkable international success after beauty therapy student and graduate Neve Dunn secured a Bronze Medal for Team UK at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.
Widely regarded as the ‘Olympics of Skills’, WorldSkills is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious international skills competitions, bringing together talented young professionals from around 90 countries and regions to compete at the highest level in their chosen profession
Competing against some of the world’s most talented beauty therapy professionals, Neve delivered an outstanding performance to earn a place on the podium and help Team UK achieve its strongest overall WorldSkills result since 2017.
Neve’s achievement marks the culmination of years of hard work, dedication and commitment to developing her skills. Her journey with South Tyneside College began when she enrolled on a Level 3 Beauty Therapy qualification before progressing to Level 4 and graduating. She has since continued her professional development whilst working within the industry and studying towards her PGCE.
Neve's WorldSkills journey has required an incredible amount of hard work, commitment and resilience. She has continually pushed herself to develop new skills and challenge herself at every opportunity. To see her return home as a WorldSkills Bronze Medallist is a fantastic achievement and thoroughly deserved. We are all immensely proud of her.
David Gardner, Principal of Tyne Coast College, said:
We are absolutely delighted to celebrate Neve's Bronze Medal win at WorldSkills Shanghai. To compete against the very best young professionals from across the globe and achieve a podium finish is an extraordinary accomplishment. Neve's success reflects not only her exceptional talent, determination and professionalism, but also the dedication of the staff who have supported her throughout her journey. She is an outstanding ambassador for South Tyneside College, the North East and Team UK, and an inspiration to current and future students considering a career in the beauty industry. On behalf of everyone at the College, I would like to congratulate Neve on this truly remarkable achievement.
As the College community celebrates her success, Neve’s achievement stands as a powerful example of where dedication, talent and technical education can lead, from the classroom to the world stage.
Congratulations, Neve. We’re incredibly proud of you.
