Society to fund Agricultural Students

The Kent County Agricultural Society, Education and Farming Committee have announced a new Higher Education, Scholarship Scheme for Agricultural students in Kent.  The financial assistance is open to all students who have lived in Kent for three years at the time of their application. Successful candidates will be eligible for up to £1,000 per year and for up to three years of study. Candidates that apply need to be between the age of 18 and 25 when they commence study in the UK for a full-time college or university degree based course within the Land-based Sector. Students can apply for a scholarship for each year of their degree course, or for the remaining years if they first apply part-way through a course and are living in Kent. Provided that the students academic performance is satisfactory the Kent County Agricultural Society will fund them for the duration of the course up to a maximum of three years.

The Society will choose three applications each year and students are able to use the funding towards tuition fees, accommodation, living expenses or equipment. Glyn Charlton, Financial Director explained “The Society’s Charitable Objectives are incredibly important and each year we support many different organisations and individuals to help raise awareness within farming and the rural sector.  Higher Education is hugely expensive today and by awarding a sum of money that can be spent to alleviate the financial burden was important to all members of the Education and Farming Committee”.

The Society would like the successful applicants to complete a presentation at Society Council Meetings, communicate the bursary through their social media channels and to also help at the annual Kent County Show.  The annual event in July has a large educational section “Why Farming Matters in Kent’ the new scholarship students are going to be a valuable addition to the team.

Lucy Hegarty, Show Manager said, “The educational area at the Show is very popular with visitors and having a number of students available to chat to young people about career opportunities will be a wonderful addition. We will also write about their scholarship, course and academic year on our website.  This will be a useful tool for other young people who are thinking about land-based courses”.

Students can apply online at http://kentshowground.co.uk/our-charitable-objectives/ for a September 2016 Scholarship.  Applications need to be completed by 31st May 2016.  Students will be shortlisted interviewed by members of the Kent County Agricultural Society Board and Farming & Education Committee in June.  Students will be informed whether they have been successful by the end of July, following the Kent County Show.