"Thank you for an excellent workshop Donna and your teaching team. Chloe thoroughly enjoyed every day and didn't want it to end! Chloe has learned so much in just a short period of time. I love what you are doing to help teenage girls to feel confident and good about themselves. Well done! X" - Parent
"Thank you Donna & Team for providing such a wonderful experience in your school holiday course. Jenny was really nervous not knowing anybody, but she had so much fun, learned so much and looked forward to every day. You created a caring and positive environment for the girls, which I think our family will fondly remember for a long time - thank you x" - Parent
"My daughter was reluctant to go to the course because it was going to interfere with her school holidays and her much needed teenage sleep, but with plenty of persuasion and nagging on my behalf she went along. Every afternoon she ran through her day with us and told us all the cool things she learnt, she assured me she was only going to do 3 days maximum though but by the end of the 3rd day she was hooked and did not want it to end. She made some lovely new friendships, learnt some essential life skills that are missing in so many young girls today and then to top it all off, she won the Award for Effort photo shoot prize. One week on and she is still beaming with self confidence. Thank you Donna, you have turned my shy little girl into a self-assured, beautiful teenager!" - Parent
"My daughter was so full of life by the end of the week and enjoyed it so much. In my opinion, Donna you are a great inspiration to young people. For my daughter who lacked confidence, her beauty inside shines once again and she even got her little part time job the same week. I take my hat off to you, and as a parent with teenage girls, would never hesitate in encouraging any other young person to do do the course. I wouldn’t mind doing it myself. All the best" - Parent
"Before Polished Academy, I was a very quiet, withdrawn and self-conscious person. I would like to thank you so much. I have a new, more positive, optimistic, healthy, fun and more confident look on life, my future and myself. There is so much I could say but all I can say to make you understand and sum it all up is thank you Donna! Thank you for everything, I am forever grateful to you and the school holiday course" - Student
"I really enjoyed the whole week, it really helped with the self-confidence issues I’ve had"
- Student​
"There is not much really that can be put in writing about how wonderful this course is & how fantastic all the teachers were to my daughter. A new found level of enthusiasm, self confidence & understanding of how to communicate is just amazing. I believe this course should be a compulsory addition to the school curriculum. A very big thank you to Donna & co for a wonderful week"
- Parent​
"The school holiday course was a great and I learnt a lot from it. I would recommend it to everyone and anyone, no matter what your personality, you gain confidence in everything! I am more comfortable with myself and know how to confidently greet people"
- Student
"My daughter, participated in the school holiday course and absolutely loved it. She learnt some really valuable life skills such as interviewing techniques, goal setting, making introductions and how to appear confident in formal as well as social settings (e.g. walking into a party). Mobile phone etiquette, manners and table setting were topics I was very pleased were covered! She learned how to apply make up properly in a very age appropriate manner where less is often more. Posture analysis, grooming, health and dressing for your body shape, we have all learned from. The most surprising factor was how confidently all the girls participated in the catwalk show at the end of the week. The way they carried themselves and performed with such enthusiasm and confidence was astounding. They had been transformed from dreading the catwalk at the beginning of the week to absolutely dying to get out there and display all the skills they had learnt. The emphasis was not on their clothes (which were their own) or how they looked, but more about demonstrating confidence through the way they held themselves. We saw a confidence in Georgia we had never seen before and she loved it! My daughter and I would both highly recommend the course, proven by her enthusiasm to get out of bed early in the holidays! She certainly appears to be more 'polished'.." - Parent​
"Adam really enjoyed the course which actually surprised me. So thank you and Donna... The graduation was great!" - Parent​​
"Every teenage girl should do this course! My daughter enjoyed every minute and has definitely taken a good deal of the advice on board. As well as the more obvious subjects of hair, make up and skin care she also loved goal setting and presenting yourself for interview. Emphasis is on confidence and without doubt hers had grown by the end of the week. The catwalk show was a fitting finale and something I don’t think anyone in our family will ever forget. Donna is a wonderful role model and I would not hesitate to recommend this course to anyone with a teenage girl" - Parent​
"This course came at a time when my daughter really needed something to help with her low self- esteem.
I was worried she wouldn’t last the first day, but she came home so excited and looking forward to the
rest of the week. By the end of the course she was a changed girl, feeling happy, chatty and with a new
self confidence. The staff were always supportive and encouraging and I’m so glad my daughter had such
a wonderful experience" - Parent
"I would just like to thank you Donna and the rest of the teachers for giving me such an amazing experience, fantastic end to the holidays, the girls and boys were AMAZING. The teachers and you Donna were AMAZING. The course was AMAZING. Everything was AMAZING no question about it" - Student​
"Thank you for everything Donna, you made me go from 0 self-confidence to a 10. It was so much fun and I enjoyed every second of it, I would do it all over again. The girls were amazing and all the teachers were lovely. Again, thank you for everything. We all appreciate it & we love you Donna!" - Student
"Thank you for a great week of life skills and lots of fun! The course content, structure and the professionalism of those conducting the course were of a very high standard. I have found both the photos and course to be extremely good value for any holiday activity but the skills she gained were absolutely priceless. Her confidence by the end of the week had sky rocketed and my ‘Tom boy’ now has poise and grace. It was lovely to see such a positive transformation. Thank you. I look forward to enrolling my younger children in years to come" - Parent
"The course was fabulous and I’ve told all of my friends how great it was. All of the teachers were amazing, especially Donna who boosted my confidence 1000000/10!!! I was like a caterpillar turning into an astonishing butterfly" - Student
"The school holiday course was so much fun and the instructors were amazing! Such a great experience, which I learnt a lot from. I still cannot believe how much confidence I have gained. It makes it easier to believe in yourself if other people believe in you too, thank you Donna!" - Student
"Thanks for such a great night. All the girls went so well and looked so happy. We are so glad that we got involved with your workshops. Well done Donna and your wonderful team. You really opened our eyes" - Parent​
"Thank you for an excellent workshop Donna and your teaching team. Chloe thoroughly enjoyed every day and didn’t want it to end! Chloe has learned so much in just a short period of time. I love what you are doing to help teenage girls to feel confident and good about themselves. Well done!" - Parent
"Thank you so much for the most amazing week of my life, I had the best time. You're one of the most beautiful and lovely lady's I know. I feel like I have come so far in the last week. I am a new person you could say and it's all thanks to the School Holiday Course. All work you have done so far is amazing. I look up to you. I came to the course not really knowing what to expect, I wish I could just go back to Friday at the graduation! I thought I was going to be really nervous because I get nervous with everything but I wasn't. I feel like I have 10 out of 10 confidence now!! I have you and your team to thank, so thank you with all my heart and soul. I feel like I could take on the world" - Student.
"I would like to say a very big thank you for your wonderful school holiday course that my daughter Alannah did on the Central Coast. Alannah said she had the best time ever & would do it again & again. Alannah made some great friends. The course did wonders to her confidences, which is great as she is getting bullied at school. Even my neighbour noticed that Alannah has got more confidence in herself. Alannah learnt so much, & was telling me all the things that she had learnt each day. Thank you all so much for helping Alannah get her confidence back & she is back too a happy young lady" - Parent.
"Thank you so much for having your course, it has been sooo beneficial to Iona especially at this time in her life. She has told me many ways in which you inspired her. I thank you once again for your passion for teenagers self-improvement and self- esteem building, it was reflected on all their faces during the graduation catwalk. Thanks again from all of us". - Parent
"Thank you again for providing a great course. It has made a big difference to Nadja & she absolutely loved it. She is looking towards what course she can do next school holidays. Nadja was sad too that it had finished. She has made some great friends too". - Parent
"Just wanted to let you know that Leah has had the most amazing week with you and your team, she has enjoyed every moment and made some wonderful friendships as a bonus. Her confidence has sky rocketed, which I thought would never happen. Thank you very much for running a wonderful, memorable course, look forward to more courses thanks". - Parent
Hi Donna,
I'm sorry I didn't write this earlier but I'd really like to say thank you for your passion and time you take to do all you do for the girls each school holidays.
My daughter was anxious and apprehensive about doing a "modeling" course but once she started she was making friends and had a lot of fun. Her confidence was extremely low when she started and her anxiety got to her once but the fact that you went out of your way to make sure she was ok and was not going to let her anxiety get the better off her made the real difference to her experience. For that neither of us can thank you enough.
For her to walk down the runway at the end of the week was a huge mountain for her to climb and I was very proud of her. That only happened because of your belief in her and the time you took to reassure her off herself. She learnt a lot more that week than modeling and healthy living.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.-Parent