Sparsholt College Hampshire

Sparsholt College Hampshire is a Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) college located at Sparsholt near Winchester, Hampshire, in the south of England. The college provides courses from sixth form to degree level and recently merged with Cricklade College, Andover.

The college covers primarily countryside-based subjects including Agriculture, Engineering, Fishery Studies, Equine Studies, Forestry and Woodland Management, Game and Wildlife Management, Horticulture, Sport and Outdoor Education and Animal Management. There are currently more than 1900 full-time and 3000 part-time students including around 450 at HE level.

Origins and history

The college originated as Hampshire's first Farm School, set up by the County Council at Old Basing near Basingstoke in 1899. It moved to its present site at Westley Farm, Sparsholt in 1914.^[1]

Higher Education at the college began in 1983 at HND level with Fishery Studies. Current BSc(Hons) degrees include Animal Management and Garden Design.

The college merged with Cricklade College, Andover in 2007. This is now known as Andover College.

Alumni

Some prominent former students of the college include:

• Charlie Dimmock - T.V. presenter and gardener.^[2]
• Tom Hart Dyke - horticulturist, plant hunter and designer of the World Garden of Plants.^[3]
• Tom Felton - actor

Trivia

The long-running BBC Radio 4 program Gardeners' Question Time has a base at the college known as the Potting Shed, and a demonstration garden. It runs annual open days at the college.

References