Set in 1600 acres of Wiltshire countryside, Lackham is the College’s specialist campus for land-based study. With an incredible range of resources and currently undergoing a £9million redevelopment, Lackham is the home of award-winning vocational teaching in the land-based industries.
Explore this page to discover the resources, people and past that make Lackham a unique place to study.
Agriculture at Lackham
Lackham has been a centre for agricultural learning since 1946. The campus is home to working farms, whose commercial enterprises include dairy, beef, sheep, pigs and arable crops. Students on our agriculture courses learn practical skills and undertake routine duties as part of their timetable. Use our Lackham farm guide to find out more.
The Animal Centre
Lackham’s newly refurbished Animal Centre is home to a wide range of domestic and exotic animals, including marmosets, raccoons, chinchillas, spiders, snakes and a wide range of birds and fish – to name a few! Not only do our students learn from these animals, but take practical care of them in a rota of duties alongside trained staff, ensuring an unparalleled and immersive learning experience.
The Animal Centre also includes a dog grooming parlour and a rehoming cattery run with the Blue Cross.
Grounds and Gardens
As an RHS-certified training centre, Lackham has an abundance of indoor and outdoor teaching facilities for horticulture. At the heart of Lackham is the Walled Garden, a series of greenhouses and the Zoological Garden. And with 1600 acres of land encompassing woodlands, wetlands, sports pitches and amenity lawns, there is no end of outdoor space for our students to learn in.
The Lackham Shoot
The running of a commercial shoot underpins the curriculum in Game and Wildlife Management. Students buy in pheasant poults, rear their own ducks or partridges, manage the game habitats and control pest species which predate game. which are released in the summer. As essential on such a busy estate, these practices follow the highest standards of safety and welfare.
A number of shoot days are sold on the open market. Guests enjoy a full day’s shooting, which is organised by students and includes a formal lunch in Lackham House. The season ends with a traditional ‘beater’s day’ for the students, rewarding their hard work throughout the season.
“exceptional and innovative approach to practical teaching, learning and assessment which results in excellent progression and achievement”
AOC Beacon Awards 2018⁄19
New Developments
Lackham is currently undergoing £9m worth of redevelopment funded by an investment from the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (SWLEP). Some of the new developments include:
AgriTech Centre
When complete, the cutting-edge AgriTech Centre will become the centrepiece of Lackham. Positioned right at the heart of the campus, the building will host state-of-the-art tech and science teaching facilities, and a media display wall with a live feed of data, statistics and visuals from the new Robotic Dairy at Home Farm.
Animal Centre
Completed in Spring 2020, the impressive new Animal Resource Centre features zoo-standard enclosures for Lackham’s wide range of animals. Not only does the centre provide attractive, high-welfare environments for our animals, but the new facilities give students the chance to experience working and learning in a real industry environment.
Robotic Dairy
Lackham will see a new robotic milking parlour joining its 140-cow dairy unit at Home Farm, which will become the classroom for the College’s new Higher National Diploma in Dairy Engineering, developed in partnership with T H WHITE and DeLaval. The Parlour will feature market-leading DeLaval robotics and software. To find out more about this innovative course, click here.
University Level Teaching Centre
In the first phase of development, the two upper floors of Lackham House were transformed into a modern teaching centre, with a dedicated common room for university level students alongside new computer suites and classrooms. Lackham offers various university level courses in Animal, Agriculture and Environmental Science – browse these courses here.
Find out more
Memberships and Accreditations
Landbased Technician Accreditation schemes (LTA)
The College works with the LTA with the objectives of providing a nationwide means of benchmarking, monitoring and assessing the competence of technicians employed within the sector.
Landex
Landex is a membership organisation which links land-based colleges together. Wiltshire College & University Centre’s Principal is the vice-chair of the Landex Board. The aims of Landex are to communicate best practice between colleges and to assist with ensuring that students get the best possible learning experience.
National Land Based College (NLBC)
Wiltshire College & University Centre is a member of the NLBC and the Principal is a board member. NLBC is an employer-focused organisation, and was established to promote knowledge and skills as the focus for increasing the productivity of land based businesses. In partnership with City and Guilds, NLBC seeks to ensure that land-based qualifications and courses are designed to meet the needs of both students and employers.
Lackham House, a stunning, Grade II listed Georgian manor house, is an ideal venue for hosting conferences, corporate events and functions of all kinds. Follow the link for more details of the facilities, including prices and availability.
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