Brinsbury College’s new farm facilities are the cream of the crop

Brinsbury College students and livestock are benefiting, following investment in some fantastic new facilities.

The college, part of Chichester College Group, was awarded more than £1million to overhaul and refurbish facilities at the farm to support  the delivery of agricultural  T Levels at  the college.

It means the college’s dairy herd has taken residence in a new cattle shed, enabling the cows to be loose housed with plenty of ventilation which promotes airflow.

It includes a new handling facility, equipped with the latest technology which scans the cow’s microchips to monitor their health more accurately, as well as camera technology which enable body conditioning scanning.

Alison Bell, Acting Vice Principal at Brinsbury College, said: “This is an absolutely brilliant investment for Brinsbury, which prioritises the wellbeing of our animals as well as ensures our agricultural students are accessing the best learning facilities possible.


“The cattle shed has been designed with a high roof, which ensures the barn is naturally cool in the summer and warm in the winter months, while the loose housing design ensures air naturally circulates.

“We have red lighting at night, which means the cows can be monitored without artificial white light disrupting their sleep patterns.

“The handling facility enables our students and staff to safely handle the herd for welfare tasks, health monitoring and to administer medicine, if required.”

Additional investment by the college has seen the installation of new silage clamps, which will enable the college to store food for the cows in larger quantities for longer. They will ensure the quality of the feed is maintained, and – if feed is needed into spring months as a result of climate change, it can be managed.

A new slurry ‘lagoon’ has doubled the college’s capacity – ensuring it is well above regulatory requirements. It is also completely sealed to reduce the levels of methane and other gases escaping into the atmosphere.

As part of this overhaul of facilities at Brinsbury, a safe space for tractor and machinery training has also been developed to ensure students are able to learn to drive tractors on an all-weather surface.


A tractor simulator has also been installed at the college, which can be programmed to replicate various agriculture vehicles including combine harvesters.

Alison added: “This investment will be revolutionary for our students, ensuring they are fully equipped with the skills and knowledge they will need to develop successful careers in agriculture.

“The next step of our project will be to install solar panels on the roof of the cattle shed, to add to our small solar farm in generating power for the campus and beyond.”

The majority of the funding for these projects has come from Government T Level Capital Buildings and Facilities Improvement funding. It’s part of the government’s investment in the development and delivery of  T Levels, which are two-year technical qualifications that are equivalent to three A-levels.