Set in 1000 acres of Wiltshire countryside, Lackham is the College’s specialist campus for land-based study. With an incredible range of resources and having recently undergone 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.
Lackham has been a centre for agricultural learning since 1946. The campus is home to working farms, whose commercial enterprises include dairy, beef, sheep and pigs. 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.
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.
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.
Lackham has undergone £9m worth of redevelopment funded by an investment from the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (SWLEP). Some of the new developments include:
The cutting-edge AgriTech Centre has become the centrepiece of Lackham. Positioned right at the heart of the campus, the building hosts 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.
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.
Lackham has a new robotic milking parlour joining its 140-cow dairy unit at Home Farm, which has 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 features market-leading DeLaval robotics and software. To find out more about this innovative course, click here.
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.
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 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.
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.
