Tiger-May Millington won the Bare Face Top Model award at the recent Miss England semi final held in Blackpool . Here’s more information about Tiger in her own words …..

” My name is Tiger-May Millington, and I am 26 years old and from County Durham. I attained a degree in Marketing and Management from a top 5 UK University, Durham. I work as a Professional Model and part-time Social Media Manager.

At the age of 22 years old I experienced a physical trauma that left me with bladder damage.

This left me traumatised with a catheter bag strapped to my leg, as well as learning to self-catheterise. This may have been a permanent fixture! However, I was lucky that this was not the case, and I recovered with the support of my family and community. The experience has made me more resilient and determined and I will always be grateful for the support I received, especially since I was recovering during Covid, achieving a 2.1 was at times unimaginable!

Tiger without and with make up ! 

I have volunteered at my local community centre for many years; assisting in running events, as well as raising funds, and have contributed to over £40,000 raised. In 2017 I was the youngest Trustee of a community centre in the country.

My aim for participating in Miss England is simple: kindness to people, animals, and the environment. I aim to empower women of all ages to feel good through the choices they make, in all aspects of life, by educating them on how they can live a more sustainable, cruelty free lifestyle, choosing compassion over cruelty. I have been actively involved with Animal Aid UK and North-East Animal Rights, campaigning in the beauty and food industries through social media articles, school and sixth form talks, and public outreach events. Addressing environmental issues is critical for us all in helping to tackle many health issues, such as cancer.

If I was lucky enough to win Miss England I’d want to use ‘Beauty with a Purpose’ to support Miss England’s chosen charities, particularly wedoethical.org, and to empower women to feel good about the choices they make. Let us use this prestigious title to spread awareness of the critical issues facing us all. Let us create a world we want our children to live in that is focussed on compassion. I aim to do this by continuing with my outreach work, talks in schools, and continuing to influence through social media. If I won Miss England I would use the position to network with other organisations, using the Miss England crown to amplify the importance of addressing environmental issues.

The message is simple, if we all made small adaptations in our choices, then this will lead to a tidal wave of environmental change!”

Tiger is now a national finalist competing in the Miss England national final at the Grand Station Wolverhampton in the 2 day event on the 16th & 17th May 2024 sponsored by Watermans Hair and will receive gifts at the final including luxury perfume by Tomavicci and skincare from Highborn London

For tickets to support Tiger at the Miss England Grand final please visit this website

Photo by David Dresser

Photo of Alexandria  by David Dresser

 

I refuse to let anything hold me back, I am determined to be a role model for all, my message is simple ‘If I can do it at my age whilst juggling life and exams anyone can find their own route and create their own journey, you just need to have purpose,  conviction and be determined to overcome obstacles that get in your way’. There is good reason for my dyslexia campaign,  stark official figures indicate around 57% of the prison population is dyslexic with no official data for the number of homeless neuro-diverse individuals; with the right support social issues can be address, talent can be unlocked in the sciences, engineering, computing and the arts. For me better awareness of how to unlock those educational and employment opportunities will support so many other good causes, promote career routes and change perceptions.

I relish the opportunity to help, advocate and support other good causes in the same way I have thrown myself into the competition. I’m ready for the next set of challenges so I can highlight that you don’t need to have any experience to make a difference you simply need to start and not put it off for another day or until the time is right because you’ll probably put it off indefinitely.

Being a competitor has taught me so much about myself, I’m a campaigner, I’m an advocate, I’m a fundraiser, I’m an events organiser, I’m talented. Most importantly I’m part of a sorority who all have their own stories and journeys, their own causes close to their hearts and all wanting to be the difference the world needs; I’m part of the Miss England family and will forever cherish my opportunity and everything it has given me. Our sisterhood is not just a group of pretty faces, we are true beauties with a purpose, each and everyone of us beautiful in our own unique way both inside and out. Whilst I am telling you my story I have to speak up and say  every woman in the final has earned their place and I am proud to be a part of that.

 

What cannot be side-lined however is the reality of being one of the youngest ever finalists which means over the next few weeks I am also sitting my GCSE’s!”

 

Image by David Dresser

Vanessa Tendo Naddamba Miss Manchester 2024

Born in Uganda, and moved to Liverpool in England at 9 years old to to live with her Mother and siblings , Vanessa Tendo Naddamba is a 24-year-old who has always strived to do the best she can in everything she does.

The eldest daughter to all her 6 siblings Vanessa ensures she sets the best example not only at home in her private life but also for the generation at large that looks up to her. Wearing many hats she is a project manager by profession, a sports enthusiast, and also a singer and a lover of everything that empowers women.

Before she came to England, Vanessa attended boarding school at Gayaza junior school in Uganda and recently went back home to give back in 2023 as Miss Uganda Uk where she advocated for soft skills to be embedded within the Ugandan education system, a 2-month mission that was highly successful as it was welcomed by both children and adults alike.

Now a Masters graduate and in her desired profession, Vanessa continues to trailblaze for young girls especially young black girls in the UK. When it comes to her settling in the UK Vanessa recalls having a very welcoming experience “my mum had already set up my place in school and the children and teachers learnt about my country before I joined. It made me feel so accepted and I feel it really helped assimilate with ease.” 

While her primary school experience was positive she did recall experiencing some challenging times in high school. Although confident in herself and her abilities in high school, when she started, she soon found that the system did not seem to share this ideal in-fact, at the beginning of her high school journey she was placed in what was called at the time “the learning zone” this particular cohort of students were the ones that were deemed as “struggling students” that needed extra support when studying. Now, on the surface level this seems fair enough, as there is support that is given to a student in need, except this was not the case for Vanessa, she was a very capable student and even the teacher in the learning zone could see this. She recalls once asking why she had been placed where she clearly did not belong and the teacher at the time hinting that this was due to her background and where she had come from.

 ‘I did not really understand the significance of this until I got older. Did it offend me at the time, yes a little bit but it also did not get to me as I already knew what I was capable of on my own and I also had a mother that nurtured that confidence in me every single day. I remember thinking to myself well you might not think I’m clever enough, but I know I am and I can only work to prove that. Which I did as later that year I had been taken out of it.’ 

‘However now that i understand, this could have had a negative impact and is actually a terrible way to group students in terms of their capability in education. Many children already suffer with low self esteem, low motivation in studying especially when they do not know what they want to do in life yet in terms of careers, some do not have the support they need at home to be able to realise their potential early on. While I do not disagree with identifying that a child needs more support and doing the needful to provide that; I strongly believe that allocating  capability bands due to prejudice does not help the child fulfil their potential, it does the opposite, you really risk a self fulfilling prophecy occurring as the child ends up believing whatever limitation you have placed on them as a teacher or even as a system which can perpetuate inequalities further’ 

Winning Miss Manchester 2024

 Vanessa’s high school years were not terrible, but they definitely were some of her most challenging days, ‘definitely character building’ she says. What kept her going was her trust in herself and her ability to still achieve what she wanted to achieve in life on her own accord. Now grown up and she sees how her confidence has carried her through some of her toughest moments, Vanessa advocates for self sufficiency and self development for children to help them get through their own challenging times. Her soft skills campaign is very relevant to bridging the gap in inequalities in education.

Having been participating in pageantry for 6 years now with her newest title as Miss Manchester 2024 set to go to compete in Miss England, Vanessa’s goal has remained consistent over the years and that is to empower through education. She aims to inspire young minds and bridge the gap in inequalities by working with the underprivileged in the city with some charities she is already in partnership with.   She would like to Encourage every girl to have the ability to wear different hats and take up space in the world and fields we would not normally be in.

Vanessa said ” What I would want anyone to take away from my story is to continue to believe in yourself despite what limitations other people try to put on you” …

Read Vanessa’s winning story here in the Manchester Evening News 

Vanessa will be representing Manchester in the Miss England National final sponsored by Watermans Hair  on 16th & 17th May 2024 at the Grand Station Wolverhampton.

For tickets to support Vanessa in the contest  visit here 

British brand Watermans, founded by Gail and Matt Waterman in 2012 are the new headline sponsors for the Miss England 2024 contest!

Pictured is Gail & Matt Waterman

Gail & Matt emerged from their personal battles with hair loss.

The duo, leveraging Gail’s 32 years of experience as a hairdresser and salon owner and Matt’s marketing prowess, aimed to create products that blend efficacy with high salon standards.

Their journey started with rigorous testing on themselves, followed by trials in Gail’s salon to cater to diverse hair needs and validate their products’ effectiveness. Today, Watermans has achieved global recognition, selling a product every 30 seconds through its worldwide distributor network.

At the heart of their success is a commitment to quality, using premium ingredients to ensure their offerings not only meet but exceed customer expectations. The company prioritizes tangible results and customer satisfaction over profits, focusing on providing solutions that genuinely aid in overcoming hair-related challenges.

You can find Waterman’s stockists on the high street in Boots , Superdrug and on

Amazon & by visiting their website www.watermanshair.com 

The reigning Miss England, Jessica Gagen, is an advocate for the promotion of STEM careers to the next generation, and recently travelled up to Glasgow to give an inspiring talk about her journey into aerospace engineering to 2175 (Rolls-Royce) Squadron RAF Air Cadets, alongside a visit to Strathclyde University and the Glasgow Science Centre.

Having took a hiatus from education to pursue a modelling career at the age of 18, Jess
started her degree in Aerospace Engineering at the age of 24, admitting that she felt lost in
her late teens as a result of not knowing what the different variations of engineering were
or the wide career prospects a degree in the subject could lead to, so now utilises her
platform as Miss England to educate school-age children and young adults about the power
of STEM careers.

Jess noticed a lack of females in her cohort when she started at Liverpool University in 2019,
and having acquired a following of young girls through her Instagram account as a result of
her modelling career, decided to showcase elements of her degree on the social platform in
order to advertise the many opportunities a degree in aerospace engineering holds. As a
result she was scouted for the Miss England competition, and won her title in the October of
2022 for her efforts in showcasing aviation and engineer careers alongside a plethora of
charity work.

“I feel it’s important I communicate the challenges I faced leading up to studying my degree in order to establish to the next generation that there’s always a way to access the course
you desire – if it takes you that little bit longer, that’s okay!”
“I chose the wrong A Levels and didn’t make the grades I was predicted, so for years I assumed I’d never be able to access engineering, I used to think – who would want to take
on a student that didn’t have a maths A Level?

I was turned down from all but one of the universities I tried – I studied physics for a year and then in 2019 the University of Liverpool offered me a place to study Aerospace Engineering!”

Whilst in Glasgow, Jess also visited the Science Centre where she flew flight simulators at
the Newton Flight Academy, and Strathclyde University, where she used her woodwork
skills to create a ballpoint pen using a lathe, before delivering a speech to 25 high school
teachers about the ways in which she believes they can help to advertise opportunities in
engineering to their students.
Jess said: “Kids need to know what the different types of engineering’s are, the skills they’ll
become equipped with, and how transferrable these are across different industries. Some
kids enjoy the idea of being a doctor but don’t like the thought of working around blood –
they’d probably make fantastic biomedical engineers, able to create prosthetic limbs, but
they don’t realise that’s an option! So I think it’s important we show them what’s out
there”.

At Newton Flight Academy, Glasgow Science Centre with the cadets, Jess talked about the trials and tribulations she faced en route to and during her degree, as well as the industries an engineering degree gives access to and future projects in engineering that the next generation will be involved in, before delivering a workshop which challenged the children to conduct research into the different types of engineering and where they can lead to.

Commanding Officer 2175 (Rolls-Royce) Squadron Fg Off Stuart McLellan MBE said: “With Jess’s background in Aerospace Engineering it was a perfect opportunity to kick off our guest speakers in 2023 with an engineering talk especially as we are the only Air Cadet Squadron in the UK with the connection to Rolls-Royce.   Jess is such an inspirational individual, and our cadets thoroughly enjoyed themselves”.

Jess will be representing England in the 71 st Miss World Contest in Spring 2023.

For bookings, contact [email protected]

In preparation for the Miss World Sports round which is always a tough challenge, Jessica Gagen the reigning Miss England has joined ABS , Absolute Body Solutions in Liverpool in a bid to get fitter than she already is !

Known locally as #fancydressjess for doing over 149 5k runs mainly around the Liverpool area,  Jessica has decided to get as fit as she can do in a bid to win the Sportswoman title at Miss World.

Jessica managed to reach the final 10 in the Miss England Sportsround and said there’s definitely room for improvement!

Absolute Body Solutions, or ABS for short, is a personal training brand with 5 gyms across the UK.

Their incredible, private gym spaces are located in London, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and South Liverpool.

Renowned for their friendly, supportive and welcoming teams of PTs as well as their expert training and nutrition programmes, ABS have helped thousands of clients to achieve life-changing goals.

Their most popular programmes include their 6, 12 and 16 week transformation programmes but the team also specialise in creating bespoke approaches to suit individual clients needs.

If you want to achieve incredible results, feel fitter, healthier and stronger and enjoy your fitness, ABS is the best place to start.

Read more about this opportunity by clicking the logo !

The much-loved skincare brand was one of the first on the face mask scene and cruelty-free beauty pioneers back in 1985 with founder, Gregory Butcher OBE, still leading the way.  Since the 80s, 7th Heaven has proudly produced brilliantly British products for every type of customer and skin type, supplying a wide portfolio of products to over 90 countries across the globe.

From their cruelty-free foundations to their gloriously good ingredients, there’s lots to love about 7th Heaven skincare, a best-selling line of face masks that are effective, inexpensive, and loaded with natural goodies.

The brilliantly British skincare brand will be actively collaborating with current Miss England, Jessica Gagen, and runner ups, Emily Cossey, Milly Everatt and Melisa Raouf.

We can’t wait to promote natural beauty together!

www.my7thheaven.com