From Norway to Writtle - an international student experience!

Two Norwegian students, Anne-Marthe and Serine, have been keeping a blog of their student experience since arriving at Writtle. Here, they capture their own journey of how they chose Writtle College and settled into life in England!

From Norway to Writtle!

"Hi, my name is Anne-Marthe Brautaset and I am 23-years-old. I am from a small town in Norway which is known for their fish export called Ålesund. Before I came to Writtle I studied Interior Design and have a degree as an Interior consultant, after that I had to get higher education entrance qualifications to be able to apply for a university. I had two gap years after becoming an interior consultant and went travelling a bit to experience the world before I decided what to study at Uni. I was unsure about what I wanted to study, I decided quite fast that I did not want to work with interior. 

Since I was a little girl animals have been a really big passion of mine, and therefore my choice became easy. I have owned several cats and a dog, horse and guinea pig, as well as working in a pet shop for 6 years. I am a very curious and adventurous person by nature and wanted to study abroad, my choices were many and suddenly it was hard to choose. But as I started to read about the course Animal Science I found out this is something for me. In Norway we don`t have the same course, and the animal courses are very limited. Since I was quite sure that I don`t want to study to become a veterinarian I still have the opportunity later in life by studying Animal Science if I change my mind.

Once I made my decision and all the papers was ready to forward to my contact person through Across the Pond, which is a Norwegian agency helping people to study abroad. I applied for a few other universities as well and got accepted to three of them. Then it suddenly became hard, I had to do some research to find out which of the universities that would fit my purpose best. So my choices were between a really nice university next to a beautiful beach, but did not have much practical work in the Animal Science course, as well as being far away from London which then made it harder for me to get back home to Norway during holidays. And then it was Writtle, beautiful campus with a lot of opportunities to get practical work, very close to London and was an Agriculture university. I made my choice to become a student at Writtle College. 

I was lucky enough to have parents that wanted to support me as much as they could and wanted to follow me at my first time at Writtle College. I was so excited, I had never seen the campus before or the area close by. I did not have the opportunity to go to a open day at Writtle and therefore everything was new and exciting as well as scary. I did not know anyone else that was studying at the college or the same course as me. I chose to stay in a hotel with my parents the first days so I could see my room and then plan what I needed to buy.

The first day

This day was the introduction day where you could pick up your keys and sign up for the Writtle surgery and buy a wrist band for freshers' week. When I arrived to pick up my key there was a really polite and smiling girl that asked if I wanted a tour around campus, I could of course not decline to that kind offer and she showed me around the grounds and Strutt - the building that I was going to live in the first year. A few minutes later we found out that this girl was Norwegian, and suddenly I felt a bit more home. She was taking care of me the first few days at freshers' week and helped me make some relations.

The induction of the course

Thursday of freshers' week we had our induction of the course, I was all alone and did not know anyone yet that was going to be in my course. I am not a shy person so it was not a very big problem, but when you are alone in a big crowd you will become a bit unsure whether you are shy or not. I had my notebook ready to make notes, I was excited of how this year would be. This was going to be my home for the next three years, without any known people and close relations nearby. Therefore, it was really important to make relations as fast as I could. But suddenly between all the talking of the crowd waiting for our lecturers to show up, I could recognise a familiar sound. Two people talking, and they were both Norwegian. I turned around and asked; “are you guys Norwegians as well?” they both were very polite and started talking to me, they came down and sat next to me. I did not know that one of those two was going to be my closest and dearest friend by now."

"Hi, my name is Serine Hansen and I'm from the island Nøtterøy, that is outside Norway's oldest city Tønsberg. In Norway I studied the higher education entrance qualification with science (studiekompetanse med realfag) before coming to Writtle. I have always loved animals and known it’s what I want to work with. And for a while I was set on going to vet school, but the more I learned about the animal business world, the less sure I was that vet school was the right decision for me. During my exchange year as a student in California and lived with a family where the mom was a vet. They had 17 animals, cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, fish and a rat. I learned so much during this year and from the family and also from volunteering at a local animal shelter. After this year I started looking more in to vet school mostly in eastern Europe, but one day an agency called Across the Pond came to the school. They were promoting different schools in England and talked about Writtle and the Animal Science course. This course sounded like something I would like to do, so I read up on it and found out that if I changed my mind and wanted to go to vet school, I could use the course towards it. So I was sold. This was the perfect course for me.

I contacted Across the Pond and they helped with all the applications and letters that I needed to do for the apply to schools in England. I was pretty set on going to Writtle College, but I also looked into other schools. In the end I ended up with Writtle. They could offer me more practical work with animals, sports and most important short and easy travelling between Writtle and Nøtterøy. To be sure of my choice, I wanted to go on one of the open days, but they were a bit hard to fit in to my schedule with school in Norway. So I talked to Across the Pond and they helped to set up so I could come a day that fitted with my schedule and be guided around the school. I brought my dad with me and we were guided around school with a man from the international student service and one of the animal science lectures. This was so good to see the school with my own eyes and get to talk to one of the animal lecturers. My dad really liked the school, the beautiful campus, and the area around. So my decision was final and all I had to do was wait for the applications to go through and be accepted to the school.

The first week

I arrived around 8 in the evening on the first day. So I called the warden and got the keys for my room. I met a nice girl in the hallway and she invited me to the common room to come and socialise with the other students that was there. So I did and met some of my new neighbours for the year. The next day I went and got my ID and did some of the information activities that was listed in the introduction guide. In the evening I went to the international 'meet and greet', this was so nice. I got to know other international students and some Norwegians that were in their 2^nd year. 

So we then went to the party down at the 'baa' and they introduced me to a lot of people and I got to know some freshers that did the same course as me. The next couple of days I went shopping in town to get what I needed for my room and on Wednesday night we went to town to the club that is sponsoring the school. On Thursday was the introduction day of the course and in the hallway outside I met a 1^st year that was Norwegian. We walked in to the lecture hall together and sat down talking. Suddenly a girl turned around and ask if we were also Norwegian. So we sat down with her instead, not knowing this was going to be my closest friend for the years to come."  

Writtle College: http://writtle.ac.uk/international
Open Days: http://writtle.ac.uk/opendays 

        

Build Week, Results and Elation!

So the build week was here, and for me it started at 7am, in a lorry, travelling up to London Olympia to unload the components for our show garden. It was to be a long and stressful week. Tensions ran high which was not helped by the hustle and bustle of the convention environment, and having to move all of our equipment multiple times, but as a team we worked through it.

Stress was alleviated in the evenings by calm group meals, and it was good to socialise with each other, leaving the stresses of the day behind us and preparing for the next working day.

The finished piece.

The plan was to be finished by the Wednesday, but we had not finished everything we wanted to, so a good percentage of us travelled back up to London to finish the garden. That evening, knowing what we had accomplished, it felt amazing and the excitement for the results was could be felt among the group.

Friday was the big day, our gardens were going to be open to the public and would be judged. Lecturer Ben Wincott, and student Sam Moore were initially interviewed for ITV, and we all eventually featured on the news item. An important role was bestowed upon Rob Band and Francesca Le Maistre Banham, they were chosen to pitch to the judges. Many of us would have been over the moon to have this opportunity, but we felt as a group, these two conveyed the passion and idea coherently and would be strong ambassadors of Writtle College. When they were speaking, the judges looked so invested in what they were saying, and this spread positivity through the group.

The winning team with their prizes.

Once this was completed it was time to wait.  We were all very proud of the garden we had created, but what we were awarded with blew our minds! Not only were we one of two gardens to get Gold , but we also got the coveted Best in Show award. All the hard work and the long hours had paid off, and we had done what we wanted to achieve.

I can personally say that I have so much pride for all of the group We stepped up our game and created a very ‘sexy’ looking garden, as said by Alan Titchmarsh. Receiving a compliment like ‘this garden should be at Chelsea’ is an accolade we did not expect. The support by the media and on social media has been incredible and has given all a hint on what we can actually achieve.
 

The Ideal Home Show has been an experience that will stay with me forever. Something that not many courses offer, which makes studying Horticulture unique. And with continued support like we have had this year, the gardens should just get better and better each year.
 

A massive thank you to all the sponsors, Ideal Home Show and definitely to Ben Wincott and Simon Watkins for their support.

Listen to what Alan Titchmarsh has to say about the award here: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152868772603473

Written by Joshua Kemp
 

Young Gardeners of the Year 2015 blog - December 2015

Each year, Further Education Horticulture students from six of the UK's leading horticulture college's participate in the renowned Young Gardeners of the Year (YGOY) competition in London. This event provides a platform for aspiring young horticulture students to showcase their skills and knowledge in areas such as garden design, planting and landscaping. 

The YGOY team discussing designs

Writtle College students will be keeping a blog in the build up to the event in March 2015 to share their experiences of being part of such a popular show and demonstrate the amount of hard work that goes into creating a potential award winning garden.

First off, Josh Kemp informs us of the launch event and the excitement surrounding the 'ideas phase'!

"One of the main features of the year, and an event I have personally been looking forward to, is the Ideal Home Show Young Gardener of the Year Award. It was kicked off this year at the Ideal Home Christmas show at Earls Court with a presentation hosted by David Domoney. The competitor in me could not help but size up the competition. The other colleges are equally capable, but I am positive that Writtle can achieve big things this year.

Josh, left, sharing ideas on a Pinterest board

Since the opening presentation, among the Writtle students taking part, the energy surrounding the award has been almost tangible. It is infectious; to be in such a creative and dynamic environment again is extremely refreshing and inspiring. I set up a Pinterest Board so that any ideas can be visually linked between all the other students, helping us to come up with a collective design incorporating input from everyone. Having completed a design module last year, the team and I have been able to give informed ideas and much discussion has taken place giving me full belief in the ability and commitment of everyone involved. I am beyond excited to continue this process and see what we can achieve in the coming weeks and months. Who knows, the next great British designer could be among us…"

For more information on the launch, click here.