Three high performing students to receive national agricultural award

Three postgraduate agricultural students from across the UK have been selected as this year’s recipients of The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust’s ‘Centenary Award’.

Launched by NFU Mutual to celebrate its 100th birthday in 2010, the annual award scheme provides bursaries of up to 75% of course fees for selected postgraduate students in agriculture. To date, 26 young people have received help through the award to further their education.

The three selected students for 2015 are:

• Lydia Slack from Derbyshire: MSc Water Science, Policy and Management, University of Oxford

• Madeleine Prince from Sheffield: MSc Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture, the University of Exeter

• Will King from Malmesbury: MSc Rural Estate Management, Royal Agricultural University

Announcing the recipients for 2015, Richard Percy, NFU Mutual Chairman, said: “At NFU Mutual we recognise the crucial role students in agriculture play in shaping the future of the industry. Our aim for the Centenary Award scheme is to create a long-standing legacy, and demonstrate our commitment to young people and the countryside.”

To select the students, the award’s judging panel looked for applicants who were not only excellent academic performers, but were also passionate about making a difference to agriculture.

Mr Percy added: “The objective was to select potential rural leaders of the future, so that the bursary payments will not only help the individual students, but also benefit the agricultural industry at large. We had a record number of applications this year, and the calibre of students was excellent.”

The Centenary Award is a long-term scheme, and bursaries will again be available in 2016.

Applications for the award next year will be invited from the start of January 2016. Information about the scheme can be found on the NFU Mutual website: www.nfumutual.co.uk