Dearne Valley College Student Wins Bronze Medal at WorldSkills UK
Back in November, Horticulture Level 2 student Reece Horton represented Dearne Valley College in the WorldSkills UK competition. Reece competed against students from colleges across the country and brought home a bronze medal!
The competition was part of the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence Programme, which aims to raise the standards in technical training and Apprenticeships across the UK. Dearne Valley College, alongside Rotherham College and North Notts College (collectively known as the RNN Group), joined the programme back in 2020 and have since worked closely with WorldSkills, through competitions, training and teaching to upskill students and staff.
The event saw Horticulture students compete in a time-sensitive event, where industry experienced judges assessed their work.
The competition required entrants to demonstrate a specific skill set while completing their task, these were creativity, attention to detail, health and safety, planning, working independently, problem-solving and Interpersonal skills.
The students were assessed on their workplace preparation use of equipment and the quality of their final project.
We spoke to Level 2 Horticulture student Reece Horton after he had successfully brought home the bronze medal from the WorldSkills competition. Reece spoke about the competition and the challenging circumstances, where he had to balance a tricky time frame whilst producing professional work.
He said: “When I was selected to represent Dearne Valley College for Level 2 Horticulture, I quickly realised that the things I had learned on the course could really help me showcase my abilities to my absolute best when it came to creating the final design. I had learned about propagation and how to properly care for plants”
He continued: “Whilst I may not have brought home the Gold, I’m still extremely proud of my achievement, even reaching the finals is a big achievement, but to place third overall is just amazing.”
When asked what he would tell any prospective students looking to study horticulture at Dearne Valley College, Reece said: “I would definitely say horticulture is a great course for anyone who enjoys being outdoors and working with their hands.”
Reece ended by saying that although he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do when he finished studying, he was sure that he wanted to work outdoors and that his qualification in horticulture would help him whatever career path he chose.