Farmers wanted to help teach students at Shuttleworth College

Shuttleworth College is looking for teachers with experience in farming, fisheries and agriculture to help train the food producers of the future.

A dedicated information stand to welcome potential teachers will be set up at a student recruitment event at the Old Warden campus from 5pm to 8pm on Thursday, April 20.

Full teacher training will be given, including for those who don’t have degrees or other formal qualifications, to allow them to step up in front of the class.

Shuttleworth College, part of The Bedford College Group, offers a wide range employment-orientated courses across all areas of the farming industry and needs people who have real life work practise to join their team. The farm area is undergoing a £2 Million refurbishment to enhance teaching facilities.

Among those who have already swapped the green fields for life in a warm classroom and fresh air working farm training environment are Martin Tyler, who has just moved on to campus after a career in pig farming, agricultural and land and environment.

Dr Tudor Dawkins is a former lecuturer at the University of Nottingham who has come out of retirement to teach after a career in crop protection with global giant DuPont and ProCam UK.

He said: “I have always enjoyed communicating knowledge to others and thought it would be interesting to revisit the subject areas I have enjoyed during my career and offer some practical advice on a range of subjects one might need to consider in a job in agriculture.”

Meanwhile Harry Tearle, who studied wildlife conservation at university and worked in the land industry, and Ryan Barnett, a former Shuttleworth College student who worked in beef and arable farming for two years both now show students the ropes on machinery and more.

Saying farewell to the college is leading lecturer Anne-Marie Hamilton, and her trusty assistant Blue, the sheepdog, have been a feature of the Kingshill Farm at Shuttleworth for nearly a decade. They are leaving in the summer to run the family sheep and cattle farm in Norfolk.

Find out more about the college at its website.