Sparsholt College Winchester UK

Last updated 30-01-2011

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	Sparsholt College Hampshire, Winchester Hampshire, SO21 2NF




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Telephone: 01962 776441
Fax: 01962 776587
e-mail: enquiry@sparsholt.ac.uk


		SPARSHOLT COLLEGE

The County's first Farm School was opened in November 1899 at Old Basing, near Basingstoke.
In September 1914, the Farm School was transferred to the 400 acre (158 ha) Westley Farm at Sparsholt, specially bought for the purpose by the County Council. It has since grown to provide for more than 1,200 full-time students and 2,000 part-time students.
Over its 100 year history, Sparsholt College has become one of the largest college of its kind in the country and, with highly rated educational standards, is one of the best regarded.


	Sparsholt College offers courses to Degree Level in the following:- Agriculture, Animal Care/Management, Leisure and Tourism, Horse Management, Engineering and Mechanisation, Game and Wildlife, Forestry and Arboriculture, Horticulture, Fish Management.

	Plus a range of Short & Part-time Courses:- Introductory Computer Training, Agriculture, Animal Management, Engineering, Fishery Studies, Forestry & Arboriculture, Horticulture, Game & Wildlife, Horse Management, Sport & Leisure, Health & Safety.


	For its wide range of specialist courses and its expanding numbers, teaching resources are constantly being developed. In addition to classroom provision, many of the teaching facilities are closely related to the practical aspects of course work. Much use is made of the College's excellent production units, the computer suites, laboratories and specialised resources such as the Animal Management Unit, the Engineering Workshops, the National Aquatics Training Centre, the landscaped horticultural areas, and a new Equine Indoor Arena.


	Sparsholt College is well favoured in having a particularly attractive campus area, enhanced by its location in the beautiful Hampshire countryside.

	As a residential college, with a sizeable proportion of students living on site, there are facilities to provide for students' requirements both during and after the working day, including a College Shop and launderette.

The Home Farm and Estate adjacent to the College comprises 176 hectares of which 146 hectares are farmed.
The main function of the farm is to service the education and teaching requirements of the College in addition to being farmed commercially.
At Sparsholt there is a herd of 130 Friesian cows, a pig herd of 100 sows, and a sheep flock of 300 breeding ewes. A significant amount of additional practical work with sheep is undertaken on neighbouring commercial farms. There is also a herd of Sika deer, used to demonstrate Parkland deer management.

The majority of the farmed acreage at the Home Farm produces forage crops and grazing land to meet needs of various livestock.
The farm is served by a comprehensive Farm Office which provides records and financial data for the farms.
There is a well-developed conservation programme designed to sustain and improve wildlife habitats on the farms and estate.
One great loss to the the College was the closure of the Beekeeping Unit which, although housed in a couple of timber sheds, provided an extremely useful service to the whole Country. Before it’s demise the words ‘Sparsholt’ and ‘Bees’ were linked in a way that was recognised across the globe as a centre of excellence in the craft. This was truly a shortsighted decision by Hampshire County Council, at a time that this major crop pollinator faced one of it’s greatest threats.



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