The View from Northern Ireland: Extended Diploma in Horticulture students at Greenmount College in Northern Ireland Adam Ferguson, Ballymena, and Noel Taggart, Ballyclare, were delighted to win Silver and Bronze Medals respectively in the UK Skills National Landscape Skills Competition Finals.
The two teenage students were competing in the Landscaping Competition at The Skills Show, held recently at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. This is the biggest skills and careers event in the UK and it aims to celebrate the importance of skills to economic growth. This year, 35 skills categories were represented at the three day show, which attracted more than 100,000 visitors.
Stunning design work by Greenmount floristry graduate Heather Hume, from Randalstown, also caught the judge’s eye at The Skills Show. Heather qualified for the final of the Advanced Floristry Competition by winning the Northern Ireland regional final at Greenmount in June and went on to showcase her skills at the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show in July. She achieved top scores for her work in Birmingham and brought home the Gold Medal to make it a hat trick of success for Greenmount students.
Pictured: Medallists Noel Taggart (Ballyclare), Heather Hume (Randalstown) and Adam Ferguson (Ballymena), celebrate their recent success in Landscaping and Floristry at The Skills Show, Birmingham