The Borders College in the Scottish Borders has reported a significant increase in the enrollment of young women in its agriculture course, marking a new trend in the sector. Stephanie Crozier, a 16-year-old with a farming background from Hawick, is among the 12 female students who have joined the National Certificate (NC) Agriculture course this year, a notable rise from the six female students enrolled last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This trend is mirrored across Scotland, with women now comprising 46% of students in agriculture courses offered by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), a noticeable increase from 42% in 2020\/21. Stephanie Crozier, reflecting on her decision to pursue agriculture, credits her early experiences on her family’s farm and a strong desire to work outdoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The increased interest in agriculture among young women is evident at Borders College, with almost half of the students in the NC Agriculture course being teenage girls. Andrew Johnson, the head of Rural Skills at the college, noted that while female applications were always present, the current numbers are unprecedented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the NC Agriculture course, Borders College offers a National 5 Modern Agriculture course and supports agriculture and mixed farming apprenticeships. The college has faced challenges in the past with low enrollment numbers, but the current trend is a positive sign for the future of the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bethany Scott, 17, and Emily Mulligan, 19, are among the students without a traditional farming background who have embraced the agriculture course. Their experiences highlight the course’s practical and engaging nature, despite challenging weather conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The college’s agriculture pathway program for school pupils also indicates a continuing upward trend in interest. Jessica Damerell, another student from Lauder, grew up on a family sheep farm and views the course as a valuable step towards a career in farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NFU Scotland’s policy assistant, Lucy McGillivray, commends the high enrollment figures, seeing them as indicative of the growing passion and interest in agriculture among young people. Her own diverse educational background, encompassing law, management, and now a postgraduate diploma in Agricultural Professional Practice, reflects the varied paths leading to the agriculture sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This surge in female enrollment in agriculture courses at Borders College and across Scotland represents a significant shift in the industry, breaking down traditional barriers and opening up new opportunities for young women in agriculture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Borders College in the Scottish Borders has reported a significant increase in the enrollment of young women in its agriculture course, marking a new trend in the sector. Stephanie Crozier, a 16-year-old with a farming background from Hawick, is among the 12 female students who have joined the National Certificate (NC) Agriculture course this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2905,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-5"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2989"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2990,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2989\/revisions\/2990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}