Over 900 school children spent the day at Sparsholt College near Winchester yesterday (June 13th), as the College invited year 8 and 9 pupils from surrounding schools to take a close look at the huge range of land-based courses and qualification on offer. The focus was very much on science, technology and a digital future for sectors ranging from Agronomy to Zoology.

One of the most eagerly attended exhibits was staged by STIHL with their roadshow of chainsaws and arb equipment as well as robotic mowers. The new STIHL Virtual Reality helmet and timber cutting software proved particularly popular – and by mid-day most of the pupils were wearing STIHL caps on a dank and dismal day.

Other demonstrations were staged by John Deere through local dealer Hunt Forest Group who showed off the interactive technology on tractors, T H White put the Spider Robotic bank mower through its paces whilst the Small Robot Company demonstrated its emerging robotic field technology.

The Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) was represented not only by current CEO Alastair Taylor, but by Edward Hansom who takes over the role in September.

“Much of the interest from the pupils stemmed from their involvement in science and environmental studies,” said Alastair Taylor, “and we must surely harness that interest to recruit into our broad sector over the coming years.”