Empowering the next generation of female farmers

Duchy College and Bicton College, both part of The Cornwall College Group (TCCG), are leading the way in attracting more women to rural courses and empowering the next generation of female farmers.

With a focus on delivering top-quality land-based education and training in state-of-the-art agricultural facilities, TCCG recognises the importance of supporting and nurturing future farmers, especially women.

Over the years, TCCG has made significant progress in increasing the number of women enrolling in the Level 2 and 3 and degree level agricultural courses at their Stoke Climsland and Bicton campuses.

Cayley Wright, Agricultural Apprenticeship Programme Manager at Duchy College, is thrilled to see more female students choosing to study land-based courses and stated,

“Gender should not be a barrier to working in agriculture.”

“We as a group work hard to express this message to our prospective students, and it’s evidently making a positive change to the number of female students we recruit each year. This will also have a positive impact to our rural farming community.” She continued.

“Anyone who’s thinking of joining TCCG at Duchy College or at Bicton College, will be excited to learn that each year, more and more women take an interest in our land-based apprenticeships, and our female staff serve as strong role models for our students,” added Cayley.

Poppy Slowley, who studies the BSc (Hons) degree in Agriculture at Duchy’s Stoke Climsland campus, expressed how “eye-opening and empowering” the course has been, and how it has widened her farming horizons:

“The course has shown me a wide range of career opportunities in agriculture.” She stated.

“The teaching and support staff, through their valuable expertise, knowledge and experience, have given me the confidence to believe in myself and grab every opportunity to learn from different sectors.” Poppy continued.

For more information on the range of full-time and part-time courses available at Duchy College Stoke Climsland, visit our website.