Our pursuit of excellence in landbased education and training is best illustrated by the many awards and accolades received by Oatridge students, staff and college-based initiatives over the years.
Click on a year opposite to see how studying and working at Oatridge College can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience.
Latest achievements....
Prestigious Lantra Awards
Darren takes the fifth (Lantra title in six years)
February 2010
For the fifth time in six years the title "Scotland's Landbased Learner of the Year" has gone to a student from Oatridge College in West Lothian. Seventeen year old Darren Broadley has also been named Agricultural Learner of the Year by Lantra, the sector skills council for Scotland. He collected his prizes at a ceremony at the Crieff Hydro Hotel, where three other Oatridge students were also among the winners.
Agricultural engineer Graeme Brown from Blairgowrie took the prize for the Modern Apprentice of the Year, while 16 year old Christopher Adamson from Bo'ness was named Equine Learner of the Year and 21 year old Lee Eaglen, a greenkeeper at the Marriot Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club was runner-up to the Horticultural Learner of the Year.
David James, the Principal of Oatridge, who was present at the awards ceremony, said: "This is a very proud occasion for the College. We have traditionally done well in these awards, but I think it is a record for our students to make up a quarter of the finalists, win the Overall title, the Modern Apprentice of the Year award, two other category prizes and a runner-up prize.
"Our aims are to support a range of landbased industries and through them the rural economy of Scotland, by turning out well educated and trained recruits and giving all our students the opportunity to develop to achieve their full potential. These results suggest we are getting it right."
Growing farming apprentices at home
August 2009
Future crops of agricultural apprentices could be more "home grown" than ever before, thanks to a switch to flexible, work-based learning to be introduced by Oatridge College, one of Scotland's leading centres for landbased education and training.
Under the new programme, students studying for Scottish Vocational Qualifications in Agriculture (Mixed Farming) will spend just two weeks a year at the College in West Lothian, while developing their knowledge and skills on the job and being monitored by tutors and a visiting assessor. Previously they would have been away from work for six weeks in a year.
Peter Scott, who heads the agriculture team at Oatridge, says: "We listened to farmers and one of the most important things they told us was that they couldn't afford to have their apprentices away for prolonged periods at College. This way the apprentices will get the skills and knowledge the industry needs and the qualifications they want, without putting too much strain on their employers."
Oatridge offers new paths to a countryside career
July 2009
Students starting out on the popular Higher National Certificate course in Countryside and Environmental Management at Oatridge College in West Lothian from autumn are to be offered new paths to "green" careers.
Until now the main option at the end of the HNC course was to progress to a Higher National Diploma in Countryside Management, but since the start of the summer break the College's team of expert environmental tutors has revamped the programme and students starting in September can also go on to study Rural Resource Management, Environmental Management or Sustainable Environmental Management.
"It has been about giving the HNC students more choice by keeping the course up to date, more exciting and more relevant to the needs and demands of employers in the sector," says Sarah Reay, one of the HNC tutors.
College "Beetles off" with gardening gold
June 2009
A team from Oatridge College in West Lothian has "Beetled off" with a gold medal from the Gardening Scotland show in Edinburgh, for a glowing display of flowers planted up in a clapped out model of the iconic Volkswagon car. The award was the centrepiece of a bouquet of prizes picked up by the College at the prestigious event.
Horticulture experts Ann Burns and John Smith called in engineering technician John Mallon to advise on the design their quirky exhibit, entitled Perennial Petal Power, carried out on behalf of the retired gardeners' charity, Perennial. College students were drafted in to help turn the 38 year-old Beetle into the "Best Show Garden".
It is the third year in the last four that Ann and John Smith have taken top prizes working with Perennial at Scotland's largest gardening show. Two years ago they won "Best in Show" with a garden created from recycled junk, including old car tyres and Irn Bru cans and the year before they won a gold medal for a less controversial East coast-themed garden.