News

Today our guest speaker, Anna Nanavati, presented the use of franklin balls to aid rider position and flexibility to our Equine students. Air- or water-filled plastic balls around 10cm in diameter (there are also massager rolls), used as part of the Franklin Method, developed in 1994 by Eric Franklin. By placing them under your seat, arms and legs, they help to release fascia and muscle tension and improve proprioception. Both our FE and HE students will be completing intensive research into the use of the balls and their ability to improve rider and horse performance. We look forward to seeing the results!

Last week, staff members Alex Downing and Guy Heath visited a Bear refuge in Croatia as part of an Erasmus+ mobility placement. We are proud work in partnership with Everything is Possible to secure Erasmus+ funding to support student placement opportunities. A very valuable experience and we hope to continue our partnership next year providing exciting opportunities for our learners!

A huge congratulations to our degree level students, Same Coote and Harry Madin, on making the final ten shortlisted for the Farmers Weekly Farmers Apprentice competition! Farmers Apprentice is a unique competition which puts 10 young people through a week-long bootcamp, seeing them tackle a range of tasks. At the end of the challenge, one of the shortlisted will be crowned Farmers Weekly Farmers Apprentice 2018, winning £10,000 to get a foothold on the farming ladder. Fantastic to see not one, but two of our students make the final 10!

We’re incredibly proud of our Horticulture alumnus, Mark Gregory, who designed Welcome to Yorkshire’s beautiful RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden this year. Mark is now the managing director of Landform and over the years has helped create almost 100 gardens - 35 of which have been gold medal winners. A huge inspiration for our students and graduates!

We were excited to welcome employers, staff, students and alumni to our BSc (Hons) poster presentation event today! Students showcased their research, engaging with industry and employers whilst staff assessed the poster presentations. During the event College alumna, Molly Williams, gave a speech to encourage both soon to be graduates and our FE students considering progressing to higher education. Molly, who joined JHWalter Business Consultancy as an Agricultural Business Consultant, graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Agriculture and Land Management last year. Amongst other words of wisdom, Molly advised students to remain passionate, stating: “It doesn’t matter what your passionate about, but if you’re passionate about something!” Thank you to all who made the event such a huge success.