Hartpury College receives £2.4 million funding boost ahead of agriculture T Levels launch
15th August 2023
Hartpury College will receive almost £1 million in government funding to upgrade two agricultural engineering workshops at its Gloucestershire campus and a further £1.4m to purchase cutting-edge equipment ahead of launching three new agriculture T Levels in 2024.
T Levels are technical qualifications introduced by the Department for Education as a new two-year post-GCSE option to prepare students going into skilled employment.
Hartpury College will launch its initial T Levels in Land-Based Engineering, Crop Production and Livestock Production in 2024-25. Students enrolled on the programmes will benefit from a blend of theoretical and applied learning, spending 80% of their time studying at Hartpury and the other 20% – at least 45 days – undertaking practical work-based training each year.
The programmes are aimed at helping students hone their technical skills before entering the workplace or progressing onto further study.
T Level students at Hartpury College will also benefit from facilities such as the Agriculture Digital Studio, launched in May 2023. The studio is a dedicated student – employee – industry facing space where future technologies in agriculture can be explored through agriculture simulators and VR headsets.
In addition, students will also have access to Hartpury’s Digital Innovation Farm on campus, including the Agri-Tech Centre for smart farming technology in livestock production and Tech Box Park innovation spaces for agri-businesses, as well as a commercial farm.
Claire Whitworth, deputy principal of Hartpury College, said: “We’re grateful for the government’s recognition of our expertise and commitment to advancing vocational training and are delighted to have been successful in securing a share of this UK-wide T Level investment funding.
“We’re always looking to align our curriculum with industry needs, and remain poised to contribute to the growth and success of the agricultural sector in Gloucestershire and beyond.”
Robert Halfon, minister for skills, apprenticeships and higher education, added: “This boost of over £100 million (across the sector) is our latest investment in T Levels. These are robust, high quality technical qualifications providing a unique ladder of opportunity for students to gain both classroom knowledge and on-the-job experience.”
