The Granville students held mufti days and sausage sizzles to raise about $3,000 for Condobolin High’s barber shop equipment.
During their two-day stay in the country, the Sydney teenagers and barber Charles Lomu taught the students how to use clippers, cut fade hairstyles, tidy up mullets and shave lines and designs.
The connection between the schools began when the Granville pipe band played at the Condobolin Tattoo last year and the students got talking.
The country kids were excited about the barber shop, while the Sydney school hopes to host Condobolin High’s Indigenous dance troupe.
The trip from the city to the bush had been put off after the farming community of about 3,000 endured prolonged flooding, after years marked by extreme drought and a mouse plague.
Granville Boys Principal Noel Dixon said the barber program, which started at the school in 2016, gave young men a sense of pride and showed them what they were capable of.
“In the old days at the school, boys used to get approval from being the tough guy on the playground, now they get approval from being the cool guy who can cut everyone’s hair,” he said.
“It gives them positive attention, a skill they can use for life and an opportunity to make money for their families.”
Mr Dixon said the Granville students got a warm country welcome and a glimpse of life outside the city.
“The boys will remember that for the rest of their lives,” he said.
School helps country cousins to be cut above rest with skill
THEY not only donated two hairdressing chairs, light-up mirrors and a collection of scissors and clippers, Granville Boys High School have travelled 437km to western NSW to show Condobolin kids their renowned barber program, which teaches teenagers how to cut hair.
