A horticulture student from Pershore College is preparing to take on the country’s best landscape gardeners in a bid to compete on the world stage.
Patrick Nield, from Hungerford in Berkshire, will be one of only eight competitors in the final of the WorldSkills UK Landscaping competition which takes place in Birmingham later this year.
The 19-year-old came through an initial field of more than 50 competitors to reach the final and has recently completed his Level Three diploma in Horticulture at Pershore College.
The final eight will go head-to-head at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) from Thursday, November 21 to Saturday, November 23 – with a selection making it onto Great Britain’s national squad.
If Patrick makes the squad, he could then be in-line to be one of two competitors selected to represent Great Britain against the world’s best landscape gardeners in Shanghai, China in 2021.
He said he is looking forward to pitting himself against the best the country has to offer and is confident he will be able to compete.
“This is actually my second time entering the competition. I was knocked out in round one last year so to make it to the final this time round is pretty special,” Patrick said.
“It’s very exciting to be involved and I’m feeling very confident that I can put out a good performance during the competition.
“The tutors at Pershore College have been fantastic in helping me to get this far. The competition utilises a lot of the skills we learn during the course and my tutor Clive Evans has guided me through the process and ensured we have enough progress.
“Of course, the end goal is to make it to Shanghai and represent the country in 2022, that would be incredible, but first of all I’ve got to focus on final in Birmingham.”
Pershore College saw five students reach the semi-finals of the competition and it will be the third year the college has had a competitor in the national final
Patrick recently completed his Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma in Horticulture. The course enables students who already have some experience to develop a expertise in a range of relevant industry subjects including soil science and garden design.
Clive Evans, Landscape Tutor at Pershore College, said: “It’s fantastic that Patrick has made it this far and we’re certain he will do Pershore proud when he competes in Birmingham later this year.
“I’ve been working with students who compete in the WorldSkills tournaments for many years and from experience I can certainly say that Patrick has a great chance.
“We’re planning to take some of our students up there to show our support in November and see one of our own competing on the big stage.”
Pershore College offers a wide range of horticulture courses including apprenticeships, full and part-time courses and degrees. For more information, go to www.wcg.ac.uk/horticulture or call 0300 456 0049.