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This is branded content for St Pauls College, Walla Walla.
It’s not every high school student that gets to be hands-on caring for 17 cattle, 144 sheep, including one obstinate White Suffolk ram, and a flock of chickens as part of their studies.
But that’s the reality for the students at St Paul’s College, Walla Walla, where the campus includes an 80-hectare working farm.
The farm wraps around the college grounds and is currently home to five Angus and Speckle Park weaner heifers, a Limousin cow and calf, two Holstein weaners and six Shorthorn, Limousin and Speckle Park carcase steers, three Simmental heifers, 80 commercial cross-bred ewes and lambs, six stud merino ewes and lambs, 52 stud White Suffolk ewes and rams, and six merino wethers, and 40 ISA Brown chickens.
Managed by the school’s students, led by St Paul’s Head of Agriculture, Belinda Everingham, the farm is at the heart of the college’s innovative agricultural studies program that’s producing healthy crops of future Australian ag leaders.
Building on its strong livestock program, the college is continuing to grow and diversify the farm operation. It’s in the process of expanding into horticulture with the addition of olive trees, a citrus orchard, crops, grape vines, and an increasing focus on plant research.
The students’ passion and expertise have been increasingly acknowledged with their successes on the agricultural show circuit, with awards coming thick and fast in categories from sheep and cattle showing, to judging, auctioneering and carcase quality.
In one of its biggest wins, the college last year took out the Supreme Champion Carcase category at the annual Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza Carcase competition held in Scone. Just recently, at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, the college performed strongly in beef cattle parading, while at the Royal Canberra Show in February the students won several of the sheep categories. At Canberra, Year 10 student Martha McGrath won the Senior Champion Handler and Supreme Champion Handler awards, beating much older competitors, despite volunteering to show a particularly uncooperative White Suffolk ram.
“Martha took it on herself to handle that ram and he gave her a fair bit of curry but she persisted with him and ended up winning,” said Ms Everingham.
“We’ve been so proud of all our ag students, their dedication and drive to succeed and be involved in the ag industry. It’s something that makes my job easy – they’re always willing to put their hands up. They’re with staff in the early hours of the morning, loading in the dark or in the evening, out in the freezing cold.”
With the college based in the agriculture-focused Riverina, the farm and the long-running agricultural program has been part of its heritage, designed and developed to expand the career pathway opportunities for the students.
“Our community is very rural and there are students here who mostly come off farms and are looking at careers in the agricultural industry,” said St Paul’s Principal, Anita Morton. “Agriculture is such a diverse sector so we want to provide lots of different opportunities for our students to engage in the industry and expand their knowledge and understanding of its scope.
“It’s also just great for students to have that farming space – with lots of land and ways for them to do the kinds of things they do at home, giving them that hands-on learning, doing the things they enjoy while still being at school.
“We really have such a unique setting here and the whole school values our agriculture program as an integral part of our college community – it’s something that connects the students together.”
Award-winning student livestock handler Martha, whose family run cattle, said the agricultural program had helped seal her decision to remain part of the ag industry.
“Being a rural solicitor is where I want to be,” she said. “I was going to do law but I’ve loved being outside and working with the animals here so much that I’d like to be able to combine the two.”
For St Paul’s boarder, Year 11 student Clancy Manning, being a part of the agriculture program has made school more enjoyable for him, and being away from his family farm easier.
“I enjoy the hands-on approach to it, having time out of the classroom, and doing something you feel passionate about,” said Clancy, who plans to take a gap year after school to go jackarooing before pursuing a career as a stock and station agent. “[The ag program] is sort of like setting you up for life and opens up so many opportunities.
“And for me, as a boarder, having the farm right here I think makes it easier being away from home. A lot of the boarders come off farms so we’re able to still get to do things we would do at home.”
The program has helped open doors and gain recognition for the students including the college’s own ‘gun’ shearer, Daniel Knobel. As well as already working as a qualified shearer, the Year 11 student is completing a school-based traineeship in agriculture at St Paul’s.
He’s taken on the responsibility of shearing all the school’s sheep, including the specialist job of preparing the animals for a show. At the Canberra Royal, his work received high praise from industry leaders.
“We had lots of comments from local producers and fellow exhibitors about the presentation of our sheep, and that was a credit to Daniel,” said Ms Everingham.
“We had judges wanting to know who our shearer was because they were so impressed. So for him to get that kudos was really wonderful. It’s terrific to see them all grow and develop these skills and knowledge. We need young people like this in the industry going forward for the future of agriculture in Australia.”
To find out more about St Paul’s College Walla Walla visit stpaulscollege.nsw.edu.au
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