Gloucestershire based Hartpury College has been recognised as one of the best in the country for providing agricultural and land-based qualifications. The College, which has been developed following £40 million of investment during the last 15 years, has been ranked as outstanding in a recent Ofsted inspection becoming one of only three UK specialist residential Colleges to receive such an accolade.
Principal Malcolm Wharton, who has orchestrated the growth of the College since taking on the role of Principal in 1990, is delighted with the findings. "Our goal has been to ensure Ofsted ranked Hartpury College as outstanding and we have been working hard to achieve that outcome," said Mr Wharton. "Ofsted inspections are always an apprehensive time but I am certainly confident in what we do and how we do it. The inspection concluded that we have well balanced students who attain excellent qualifications through hard work and high attendance and as a result are well equipped for their next steps in life."
The College’s facilities, staff, security and safety were all highly praised as well as the promotion of equality, diversity and ensuring educational opportunities for all. "The College has progressed from just 60 full time students when I joined in 1990, to 3300 full time students today. It is a real team effort and I’m pleased that students, staff and governors alike can all share this proud moment in the history of Hartpury College.
"The success of the College can be attributed to a number of key factors" continues Mr Wharton. "£40 million of investment in residential, commercial and educational resources is of course a major contributing factor as well as the fact that we are in a strong geographical position, being close to the city of Gloucester and other significant centres of population such as Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol, with good transport infrastructure. I also feel that while we identified new curriculum areas that we knew would attract students, mainly in sport and equine, we realised the importance of retaining agriculture as a core focus."
Hartpury College Home Farm
Hartpury College farms 400 hectares with the main commercial driver being the dairy unit that consists of a 500 cow Total Mixed Ration (TMR) housed herd. The unit features a rapid exit cellar parlour, cubicle housing, straw yards and pens, the herd averages 8500 litres per cow per annum. The College also runs a sheep flock and a small 50 sow pig unit.
Malcolm Wharton believes there is a huge future for agriculture and plenty of opportunities for youngsters who wish to work in the industry "I agree with Peter Kendall about the promising future of UK agriculture. The decline in land available for cultivation due to industrialisation and growth in global populations, demand for high protein diets in China and India plus the growing threat of climate change means we are going to need well educated, highly skilled and entrepreneurial young people involved in the agricultural industry. It seems the government has finally caught on to the importance of UK food production. Hilary Benn at the recent Oxford Farming Conference laid out his vision for the future of food production which encourages UK farmers to, hold on to your hats, actually produce food! Investing in the skills and knowledge to be able to do this in the most sustainable, economically viable and environmentally friendly way will ensure the industry prospers in the future."
Does the College have a strategy for further investment at Home Farm? "We hope to invest in a new commercially viable pig unit to demonstrate best practice and to also provide a research and training facility for our staff and students," continues Mr Wharton.
"We are likely to see further cuts in government funding and therefore partnerships are going to be fundamentally important to the future of agricultural education. We plan to start a partnership with both a local organic farm, so the students have access to financial and physical data from a commercial organic enterprise, and with a local farm shop/animal attraction.
"We also have exciting plans to invest a further £6 million on new classrooms, offices, a library, laboratory and dining room at the farm for our agriculture, countryside and game students. These types of courses continue to grow in popularity and the majority of students, armed with the appropriate skills, go on to find employment. There is a huge need to train a new generation of youngsters who will come into this rewarding industry and tackle the potential environmental and economic challenges of the future and I am confident that at Hartpury College we are well placed to help meet this challenge," concludes Mr Wharton.
