AGRICULTURE Studying agriculture at College
Christ’s College offers a range of options to meet the needs of students wanting to include agriculture in their studies and adapts these options as boys’ needs change.
Mr Robin Sutton, Senior Master Academic, says in 2016 College will introduce achievement standards into Level 3 agriculture to allow boys to meet the University Entrance requirements. There are plenty of options available and boys taking agriculture courses can accumulate up to 35 credits in one year. These credits count to achieving NCEA at all three levels, as well as adding to a boy’s UE criteria. He says, “In 2013 we met the Vice Chancellor of Lincoln University to explore links with the university and
to find out what they required from students coming to the university. The primary sector needs at least 1200 new graduates each year, but Lincoln and Massey between them can produce only around 400. The demand for graduates covers a wide range of skill sets including pure science, global banking, farm management and actuarial work. “When we asked what we could do to help meet the demand, university staff were adamant that they wanted students with good English and mathematics grades and it did not
really matter what other subjects they had. As long as the students were suitably literate, the university would give them the skills they needed. “They also said the same about farm management skills,’’ Mr Sutton says. “However for boys not intending to go to university or who want to include something practical in their courses, having training in basic farming skills is also useful.’’
What College offers to boys interested in agriculture
For the past 10 years, as part of the boarding programme College has provided a series of night classes delivered by the National Trades Academy. These classes are open to all boys and usually between 25 and 30 boys take the course. They offer ITO-based standards in a range of agricultural areas from Level 1, 2 and 3 on the curriculum framework. For the past five years, a class with between five and 12 boys has offered Level 3 and four ITO based standards, covering both theory and practical skills. Boys usually accumulate between 30 and 40 credits at Level 3 and above. Teams of College boys regularly compete for the Rural Women of New
Zealand Secondary Schools Agriculture Skills Day Trophy which they have won five times in the last 10 years. In 2015, two teams competed in the advanced competition against Christchurch Boys’ High School, St Bede’s, Darfield and Lincoln teams. College’s team of Tim Fox, Dean Gardiner, Will Pinckney and Will Rutherford won the competition which covered six events including quad bike driving skills, mechanical skills, horse handling, stock management, drafting and stringing a line of fixed fencing. The A2 Team was Tom Adams, Tim Macfarlane, George Cooper and George Satterthwaite.
Winning team, from left: Will Pinckney, Dean Gardiner, Tim Fox and Will Rutherford.
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College Issue 30 2016
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