A new schools roadshow which aims to showcase exciting careers in food and farming has visited Northgate High School this week.

The roadshow, organised by EDGE Apprenticeships in Food & Farming, visited the Dereham School on Monday 17^th November.

The branded roadshow bus arrived full of information about careers in the food & farming industry, along with livestock, a demo sprayer cab and UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle).

The EDGE roadshow aims to educate young people about the career options available in the food and farming industry. The sprayer cab, made by Sands Agricultural Machinery, is usually part of a sprayer with a 36 metre boom. This and the UAV, which is used for mapping fields, demonstrate the highly technical arable industry. Richard Savory, an EDGE Ambassador, brought his Sheep Show to demonstrate the variety of careers available working with livestock and how technical this sector has become. EDGE ambassadors were also on hand to provide information for students about the variety of other careers in agriculture, including business based roles and working with machinery.

The day began with assembly and a talk from Richard Hirst, local farmer, Chairman of EDGE and employer of an EDGE apprentice. Richard told the students about the vast number of opportunities available in food and farming. Many students were interested to learn about the career options,

“It’s good how EDGE have made people aware of the different roles in farming” said Edward Crane, a year 10 student.

The roadshow was really well received by students, “It helps people understand what the food and farming industry is” said Anna Pond, a year 9 student at Northgate High School.

Another year 9 student, Charlotte Carroll said, “It’s interesting because you don’t really learn about farming at school”.

The roadshow was also considered successful by the staff, “It’s an excellent opportunity for our students to think about careers in general and what they may want to do in the future, being able to talk directly to people involved in the industry makes a huge difference in terms of getting a picture of the types of careers they can go into in the future” said Jonathan Atkin, Assistant Head Teacher.

The Roadshow has already visited other schools in Norfolk and has a further 17 scheduled in Norfolk and Suffolk throughout the winter.

The EDGE roadshow will be visiting many more schools in the next few months.