Duchy College’s first farming students return to Stoke Climsland

Forty years ago, a group of students lined up beside a tractor at Stoke Climsland for a photograph. They were the first to take agriculture courses at the college. Some of them have just come back.

Duchy College Stoke Climsland has marked 40 years of agriculture education by welcoming back some of the students who joined those very first courses four decades ago.

📷First Agriculture cohort at Duchy College, 1986

Lunch, a campus tour and old friends

The reunion brought the former students together for lunch, a tour of the campus and a chance to catch up with old friends. Plenty of time was spent reflecting on their days at the college and the paths their careers have taken since.

The college also welcomed the Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho, to mark the milestone and celebrate what agricultural education has brought to Cornwall and its rural communities.

Georgie Radmore, Head of Land and Environment at Duchy College, said: “Reaching 40 years of agriculture at Stoke Climsland is an opportunity to celebrate the generations of students who have been part of our story. It was wonderful to welcome former students back, hear about their achievements and reflect on the role the college continues to play in supporting agriculture and rural communities across Cornwall.”

Four decades of change on the land

The anniversary gave the college a chance to recognise what its alumni have gone on to achieve, and the friendships that have lasted long after they left. Their stories also opened up conversations about how much agriculture has changed in 40 years, and the opportunities ahead for the next generation.

Duchy College is the specialist arm of Cornwall College Group, focusing on courses for the rural economy, health and wellbeing and business. It runs two main campuses in Cornwall, at Stoke Climsland near Callington and at Rosewarne near Camborne. Both sit on working farms, and Stoke Climsland is the larger of the two, stretching across 660 acres of rolling countryside.

Details of the courses on offer are on the Duchy College website.

From student to business founder

Among those returning was Ian Tremain, who studied at Duchy College before building a career in the animal feed sector. Since leaving, Ian has set up and sold several companies, drawing on his experience in the agricultural industry.

“It was great to come back to Duchy College, see how the campus has developed and catch up with people,” Ian said. “My time at college was an important part of my journey into the agricultural industry, and it was good to reflect on how far things have come over the past 40 years.”

📷Left to right: Dr Patrick Newberry MBE, Chairman of Cornwall College Group Governors, Ian Tremain, Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho, Darren Evans, Head of Duchy College Stoke Climsland, and Georgie Radmore, Head of Land and Environment at Duchy College