SW in Bloom Melksham - Wiltshire College Lackham Student Award
Over the past three years or so the Foundation Studies and Horticulture learners (and staff) from Wiltshire College Lackham have been very helpful to the town, assisting with various enhancement projects as part of their studies and requirement for work experience, including;
· Repairing a leaking pond by incorporating a liner in the Prince of Wales Garden.
· Repairing and reinstating a gravel path leading from the town centre to the Church.
· Reinstating a long stretch of over grown path along the Riverside Walk - see separate article.
· Growing 600 plugs of wildflowers in order to create a Melksham Wildflower area/meadow – see separate article.
Carl Gill, former Curriculum Manager for Horticulture, Floristry and Foundation Studies at the Lackham Campus of Wiltshire College, proposed that the SW in Bloom Committee support an award for a Foundation Studies student in order to show our appreciation of the efforts of the learners. It was agreed that the award criteria would be;
• An award to a Foundation Studies student who attends the Lackham campus.
• The award is for the student, who in the eyes of the teaching team has;
a) Made the most progress in the academic year (compared to their peers).
b) Demonstrated an affinity with the wider green environment.
c) Made a positive impact on their tutor group.
Subsequently the teaching team at the College chose Thomas Few as the first recipient of the award.
Citation for Thomas Few
“Tom joined Wiltshire College Lackham in September 2017 as a Year 10 from Lavington School. For a wide variety of reasons Tom found school challenging and not the right learning environment for him. In September Tom struggled to engage with the new environment and peers and his attendance was affected. Working with Tom, we created an individual timetable to allow him to access the wider college through infilling into Countryside Management lessons.
Tom made a great effort this year in learning new unfamiliar subjects and this has been reflected in his course work. In class Tom makes an effort to research the subjects being delivered and has shown a vast improvement over the year with us and doesn’t get flustered, either in class or outside. Tom’s passion for the Countryside is evident when carrying out practical work such as the Riverside Project in Melksham and uses his own experience to help him obtain a better understanding of the tasks/subject. Tom works well as part of a team, but also uses his initiative when asked related questions. Tom is a polite person and produces his work on time.
Tom has demonstrated a thirst for learning about the countryside and the wider green environment and will be progressing onto Countryside Management in September”.