Farm Minister George Eustice to present awards to Writtle College FE students
Annual Presentation Day for Further Education students to be held at Writtle church for the first time.
Proud students from last year’s Presentation Day event
Writtle College will be holding its annual Presentation Day for Further Education students next Friday 26 June.
This year, Farm Minister and Writtle College alumnus George Eustice MP will be presenting the awards during the ceremony, which will be held at All Saints Church, Writtle, for the first time.
Mr Eustice studied Commercial Horticulture at Writtle College between 1990 and 1993 and went into the family fruit farm for nine years before embarking on his political career.
The Conservative MP for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle since May 2010, who is the Minister of State – Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), still draws on his learning at Writtle College.
He said: “The lessons I learned at Writtle College have been useful throughout my entire career, from running the family business to my current role as DEFRA minister.
“I first visited when I was ten and my father was establishing the family fruit farm. When the time came to choose a college to study Commercial Horticulture, not only was Writtle the best, but I also liked the grounds and felt like I could really belong there.
“I had a fantastic time at Writtle, especially at the Summer Balls, but I also learnt a huge amount and it is a great pleasure to be invited back for the annual Presentation Day to meet and recognise those students who have completed their courses and will soon be entering the industry.”
The award ceremonies mark the success of students completing full-time and part-time FE courses at Writtle College including Equine, Animal Studies, Veterinary Nursing, Floristry, Agriculture, Countryside, Art and Design, Sport and Horticulture courses.
The full-day ceremony features a number of awarding sessions, with the first presentations being made to students from the Animal Studies Level 1 and Level 3 students at 10am. Animal Studies Level 2 and Equine students will be given their awards at 11.45am, followed by Agriculture, Countryside, Art & Design and Floristry students at 1.15pm. The final ceremony will be at 2.45pm for Horticulture and Sport students.
Writtle College’s Director of Further Education Dr Jenny Thorpe said: “The FE Presentation Day marks the culmination of our students’ studies and is a particularly proud moment for them, their family and friends as well as the College’s staff.
“This year’s successes include FE horticulture students winning all three of the top accolades in the Young Gardeners of the Year competition at the Ideal Home Show; an FE student winning a floristry competition on the Alan Titchmarsh Show; one of the organisations that offers our students Apprenticeships being highly commended in national apprenticeship awards; and Sport students canoeing from Devizes to Westminster.
“Having been rated as Good by Ofsted inspectors last year, we have seen our success rates continue to improve, with 96.6% of our FE Level 3 students progressing to further education or employment, according to the Writtle Destination Survey.
“We would like to congratulate all our students on their achievements and wish them every success as they take their next steps, whether those are in education or work.”
