HORTICULTURE LEVEL 2 FT

View The Isle of Wight College's standard entry requirements for full-time college courses (depending on the level of the course to be studied).

For level 2 Horticulture, students will be required to hold any of the following will be considered at interview: •4 GCSEs at Grades 3 including English, Maths & Science. For those students who hold lower than grade 3 GCSEs we have a provision at level 1 which will enable you to move to the level 2 programme upon successful completion.

Those people who enjoy practical outdoor work and may have already had some experience or interest in working in Horticulture/Professional Gardening. Some previous experience in horticulture/gardening will be beneficial.

You'll learn practical gardening skills in a realistic setting. You'll learn in a group on and off site. This programme provides a broad foundation of horticultural subjects which includes plant identification, soil preparation, planting techniques, plant after care and maintenance, and garden design.

This programme is delivered through a combination of classroom theory and a predominance of practical skills development. Much of the curriculum deliver is based on the college campus but we also carry out a significant proportion of the programme at off-campus venues within local businesses and land owners. For your assessment you'll give practical demonstrations of the skills you learned and complete short answer assessments on underpinning knowledge. There is no end of course assessment.

You will be required to carry out a minimum of one day of work placement within the industry, to complement the programme. This will enhance your practical skills in a realistic working environment and further develop your employability skills.

This qualification will enable you to study further in Horticulture, either locally here at college or specialised training at a mainland college. The Level 2 Diploma is the equivalent to 4 GCSEs grade A*-C/9-4. It provides a good progression for Level 3 in Horticulture, to achieve this you are likely to also need minimum of C grade in GCSE English, Maths and Sciences (combined or biology). For employment, this qualification will enable you to develop the skills you need to start or progress a career in: Garden centres, nurseries, amenity/decorative horticulture, landscape construction, garden design, turf culture, tree surgery, garden maintenance.

You will be required to carry out practical work therefore safety boots, gardening gloves and clothing suitable for work outdoors in all weathers. For theory you will require pen, notepad and folder.