Page 11 - Yorkshire Post Rural Awards 2017: The Winners

SATURDAY OCTOBER 14 2017 YORKSHIRE POST
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
Bishop Burton College
GREAT OUTDOORS: Bishop Burton College ensures that its students not only receive academic teaching but provides practical learning experiences to prepare them for the agricultural industry.
Preparing students for the working life
At Bishop Burton College, students are given the ideal preparation for successful careers working with animals and crops.
The East Yorkshire college, near Hull, specialises in training students for work in the agriculture, animal management and equine industries.
Bishop Burton, which was recently named the Outstanding BTEC College of the Year at a prestigious awards ceremony, ensures all further education and degree students not only receive the academic teaching, but also the practical learning needed to prepare them for industry.
Agriculture students routinely carry out practical duties on the college’s 360-hectare farm. Animal management students are tasked with the care of the college’s wide range of exotic and companion species and equine students work on the yard as part of every course.
On top of this crucial experience gained on the college’s main campus, Bishop Burton also has outstanding industry partnerships.
These partnerships – including with farming and engineering companies, animal sanctuaries and charities, and riding clubs – give ‘land-based’ students further opportunities to learn their trade.
It is an approach that clearly works, with 97 per cent of students securing work or moving to a higher level of study within six months of finishing their course – some of
the highest rates anywhere in the country.
This was a key factor in accrediting body Pearson naming Bishop Burton the Outstanding BTEC College of the Year in July.
Deputy Principal Bill Meredith, who is from a farming background himself, said: “I know only too well the importance of ge ing a real, sound grounding in sectors such as farming if you want to have a successful long-term career.
“Here at Bishop Burton College the emphasis is on making sure all of our students are fully prepared for work. For subjects such as agriculture, animal management
and equine studies, in particular, this includes practical, on-site duties.
“These duties, combined with the work experience placements students have with companies relevant to their studies,
mean they get a real
insight into what real
working life is like
in these sectors,
before they have
finished their
course.
“In many
cases, students
secure jobs
while they are
still at the college.
They often juggle
part-time work
with their studies, and
they are then in a position
to go straight into a full-time position as soon as they finish their course.”
Along with its specialist subjects, Bishop Burton also delivers further education qualifications in subjects including sport, food, health and
social care and childcare, tourism, public services and engineering.
It also runs degrees in subjects including agriculture, animal management and equine studies,
among others.
The exceptional
facilities at Bishop Burton College
are one of its standout
features. “Students at
Bishop Burton College really do benefit from
some wonderful facilities,” said Mr
Meredith. “They are
provided with real working environments
which replicate exactly what they will have in their later careers. “Our students don’t just get
an academic qualification – they are given a platform to launch a successful career.”
Following a full inspection in
February, Ofsted highlighted
the “positive culture of learning and respect” and “expert and enthusiastic” tutors as key factors in the high number of students who succeed.
It is, says Mr Meredith, a key factor in the success of the college and its students.
“We are a values-driven organisation,” he said. “One of
those values is having a ‘can do’ a itude and another is ‘striving for excellence’. These values are instilled in our staff, who in turn ensure they are instilled in our students.
“It has created an environment in which everyone is determined to do their best and ensure the students fulfil their potential.”
■ It is not too late to secure
your place at the Outstanding BTEC College of the Year for
the academic year that started this September, as Bishop Burton College is still accepting applications. To apply for a place, visit www.bishopburton.ac.uk or call 0800 731 82 81.