Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society launches £1,000 student bursary

Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society's £1,000 bursary is open to all qualifying students studying agriculture and related subjects
Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society's £1,000 bursary is open to all qualifying students studying agriculture and related subjects

Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society has announced a £1,000 bursary which is open to all qualifying students studying agriculture and related subjects.

The society's 2022 student bursary award has been launched to provide extra financial support to assist students whose family home is in the county.

The bursary is open to students studying agriculture, veterinary science, agricultural engineering, food technology, forestry or other subjects allied to agriculture.

The bursary is tax free and will be awarded to the student who, in the opinion of a panel of judges, has submitted the best dissertation on how the bursary will assist them to complete their course of study.

The last winner of the award was 21-year-old Gracie Morris, of St. Davids, who was in her final year at Harper Adams University studying BSc agriculture with crop management.

“It was an honour and a privilege to have been awarded the Pembrokeshire County Show student bursary award in 2019," she said.

"The bursary enabled me to undertake research towards my final year dissertation on biofumigation to control Rhizoctonia solani in potatoes.”

“The bursary allowed me to be financially secure during my last year of studies. Most of my spare time was spent researching for my dissertation so having a part-time job alongside university was not not possible for me.”

Gracie recommends qualifying students apply for the award: “I would urge all Pembrokeshire students who study subjects that are clearly aligned to agriculture to apply for this bursary.

"It won't only assist with your studies but will also give you great experiences such as undertaking an interview which is a key employment skill. It will also assist in your future career within the agriculture industry.”

The society said qualifying students must not have won the bursary previously, and must be studying or has been accepted to study agriculture or allied subjects at a UK college or university at A-Level or higher. The applicants' family home must also be in Pembrokeshire.

Rob James, chairman of the society’s bursary sommittee said, “A panel of independent judges, chaired by a representative of the society, will draw up a short list of candidates who will be interviewed.

The winning candidate will be asked to give a short presentation at a future meeting of the society's show council.

“The standard of applications has always been exceptional which gives a lot of heart that there are a lot of very talented young people in our community.

"We are very much looking forward to receiving applications for this year’s bursary and hearing from the younger generation.”

To enter, students must submit a dissertation of 1,000 words entitled ‘How the bursary will assist my career progression.’

The closing date for applications is Friday 1 July 2022.