We thought you would like to read the latest news from the undergraduate courses at Writtle College. We hope to welcome you here soon but, in the meantime, please look on the College website for all the latest news, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or watch our Horticulture video on the link below.
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Horticulture students enjoy job success!
More than 40 students graduated from the undergraduate Horticulture courses last Summer. A number of them have been in touch to tell us about the jobs they are now doing.
You can see from the list below that our broad-based courses allow students to go into a wide range of careers. The list also shows how Writtle College’s horticulture courses attract students from across the country as well as from abroad.
• Jamie (Essex) – 3 year placement with Professional Gardeners Guild
• Erica (Japan) – Garden design company in Japan
• Max (Somerset) – Junior contracts manager, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
• Sam (Cambridge) – Glasshouse technician at Syngenta
• Julia (Suffolk) – Trainee plant breeder at Thompson & Morgan
• Alfie (Yorkshire) – Product development manager at Suttons Seeds, Devon
Some students went on to further study at Writtle College:
• Angela (London), Collen (Zimbabwe) and Andrew (Surrey) are now taking our MSc Postharvest Technology course.
• Tom (Ireland), James (Essex) and Jon (Scotland) are here on the MSc Conservation Management course.
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Employability Week at College attracts leaders in horticultural industry
The horticulture staff at Writtle College have close links with industry so we can provide students with top guest speakers and networking opportunities.
A key event for students is the College's Employability Week held in March every year. Representatives from well-known horticultural companies give talks about the kind of skills they are looking for in graduates. In 2014 the following horticultural companies participated in Employability Week:
o Thompson & Morgan (one of the UK's largest mail order seed and plant companies)
o Tozer Seeds (independent British vegetable breeding company)
o GS-Fresh (growers of salads and vegetables)
o Perrywood Garden Centre & Nurseries
o Provender Nurseries
In some cases companies are able to advertise vacancies at the event. Julia found her job with Thompson & Morgan at Employability Week in 2013. Julia, who is working as a trainee plant breeder, is pictured with Charles Valin, senior plant breeder at Thompson & Morgan.
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Little Writtle propagation
BSc Horticulture third year students have been involved with a project looking at breeding an improved cultivar of hardy Osteospermum.
Some garden centres and nurseries are not keen to stock hardy Osteospermums as they can grow into large clumps of plants – unsuitable for a small garden. Also, some of the older varieties do not flower for very long and some gardeners dislike them for this reason.
One of the students’ selections ‘Little Writtle’ is a dwarf form and less invasive than either parent plant. It also flowers early and throughout the growing season.
Suttons Seeds have recently agreed to include ‘Little Writtle’ in their plant catalogue. Plants are now being propagated at Hargreaves Plants in Huntingdon. The company supplies Suttons Seeds. Initially 1,000 plants are to be produced.
Writtle College will also propagate and sell ‘Little Writtle’ at College events.
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Come to our next Open Day!
Our next campus Open Days will be on Wednesday 9 April and Wednesday 4 June.
Run from 10.30am to 3pm, the University-Level Open Days give prospective students and guests the perfect opportunity to find out more about what's on offer at Writtle College.
Throughout the day you will have the opportunity to learn all about Writtle College, meet course tutors, tour the campus with current students, discover student life at Writtle College, and learn about the support available to students. You are welcome to bring your parents.
Pre-event registration is required, to avoid disappointment. To register, please contact Admissions on 01245 424200, email openday@writtle.ac.uk, or apply online on the link below.
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