The Horticultural Unit at Pershore High School in Worcestershire has been growing strongly for over nine years. Students from the school have their own plots and get to undertake a variety of horticultural training working towards their RHS Introductory and Level 1 qualifications. 

The Year 11 cohort this year have also benefited from a day course “Introduction to Landscaping” at TASK, the only independent landscape training centre in ‘the heart of’ England, who provide accredited courses to train professional landscape designers, installers and gardeners.

Rupert Keys the Founder and MD at TASK said: “A lovely group of talented and really interested pupils who are in their final year of their RHS Level 1 in Practical Horticulture. It was great to see their enthusiasm and confidence grow as they worked with our trainers and were eager to have a go at a range of landscaping skills.

It was great to be able to host this group, and hopefully we have given them a taste for what the landscape industry has to offer as a career to expand their horticultural experience and may introduce at least some of them to the opportunities in horticulture.”

TASK Trainer, Dave Sewell added: “Our training barn just lit up when the students started laying the bricks. Absolutely fantastic bunch of pupils. Students were able learn a broad range of practical skills in landscaping installation and maintenance with TASK. Hopefully some great more things to come with amazing young people joining our industry. We all had a brilliant time.”

Anne Watson, Head of Horticulture at Pershore High School, and Headmaster Phil Hanson both attended the training course with their students who are now sitting their GCSE exams, and said: “Gaining hands on experience from skilled the crafts people at TASK is so valuable to our students as they move on in their lives. This group have been involved with the displays the school have helped create at both BBC Gardeners World Live and Chelsea Flower Show in the past couple of years. Horticulture holds such a variety of opportunities for people to create a career and earn a good living from. 

"It was a great opportunity for the group to get this taste for landscaping and the facilities at TASK are just perfect for skills like this that we cannot demonstrate at school.  Our thanks to Rupert, Dave and all the team at TASK as well as a big thanks to OX Tools UK for providing the students with the tools they used as well as some goodies to take away, including sunglasses!  

"As a school we are very fortunate to have the support of businesses including TASK, St. Peters Garden Centre, Bransford Webbs Nurseries, Blue Diamond and Westland Horticulture.”

The Colegrave Seabrook Foundation supported the training and Trustee, Neil Gow, who also helps train and asses the students in their horticultural techniques at the school, said: “In addition to supporting students through the scholarships the Foundation offer to those already committed to their careers in horticulture, the charity is doing an increasing amount to seek to attract young people into horticulture as a career. Our recently launched series of podcasts “Cultivate Your Future” talks to real people about their career journeys in the industry as it seeks to inspire and educate people with insights into opportunities available within the profession of horticulture.

"The Foundation could not achieve what we do without the co-operation and loyalty of our sponsors and supporters across the horticultural industry.”

You can learn more about the work of the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation from their website, colegraveseabrookfoundation.org.uk