Last Friday I welcomed Michael Gove, Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to Cornwall. It was a busy and varied day,
and one of the highlights was a visit to Duchy College at Rosewarne. A variety
of topics were discussed, including protection for Cornish foods, such as the
pasty, post-Brexit.
The college is situated on a working farm, and is something of a
horticultural treasure with national plant collections on campus. It has a
working nursery, engineering workshops, specialist veterinary nursing
facilities and an animal management centre. Duchy College is part of Cornwall
College.
I am a former student of Cornwall College and did one of the
courses on agriculture. The visit reminded me of my own days at
agricultural college. Many young people are seeing the opportunities in
land based industries and for others a career in animal care or veterinary
science is incredibly fulfilling. While there, we met a group of students
who had chosen a course in animal care. Duchy College offers a wide range
of courses in these areas.
We also met Raoul Humphreys, CEO and Principal of Cornwall
College. Cornwall College has a deep rooted history in our area and has been at
the heart of all further and higher education in Cornwall for the last 80 years
or so. It was great to see such enthusiasm from staff and students alike.
