Top REALM students awarded prize

Posted 15 October 2013

Two students studying Rural Enterprise and Land Management at Harper Adams University have been presented with a special award for coming top of their year.

Sally Abel and Gillian Wilsher have been named joint winners of the Buccleuch REALM Cup after getting the top mark in the second year of their BSc (Hons) degree at the university.

The students, who are both final year students and have just returned to Harper Adams after spending a year in industry, were presented with their award at the Rural Enterprise and Land Management/Rural Property Management 2013 Placement Poster Fair.

The event, held in the Queen Mother Hall earlier today, saw around 70 final year students displaying posters they had designed about their placement year in industry.

Companies featured included Apley Estate near Bridgnorth, Barbers Rural, Carter Jonas, Savills, Buccleuch Estates Ltd, Brown & Co, Bidwells, Fisher German and many more.

Sally, from Peter Tavy, near Tavistock, Devon, has just returned from her placement year with Christopher Lyons Rural Asset Management in Ledbury, Herefordshire.

The 21-year-old former Tavistock College pupil said: I’m very pleased to have won the award. It’s good to know the hard work in my second year paid off.”

Gillian, who studied at Silcoates School in Wrenthorpe before coming to Harper Adams, has just completed her placement with Carter Jonas in York.

The 22-year-old from Kirkhamgate, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, said: “I’m really pleased and I’m hoping it will help me progress onto a successful final year following a very good placement year with Carter Jonas.”

REALM course leader, Simon Keeble, who presented the students with their award, said: “The cup, which is sponsored by Buccleuch, is awarded for the top student from the second year of REALM.

“The girls have done incredibly well to get this award and it’s the first time we have had two students with exactly the same mark.”