It’s been a fantastic start to the year in the Agricultural Science Department welcoming new students to the subject as an elective as they come into the senior years, as well as the excitement of our Agricultural Science unit in Year 9! 

Once again this year, all of the Senior Agricultural Science students are taking on the 2024 ‘Insects in Agriculture’ DAF Hermitage Schools Plant Science Competition. Ten Science Aggies are starting their entries by researching global food security and the worldwide challenges facing the agricultural industry in developing nations. The Year 11 and 12 Aggies have started a number of different experiments, some looking at pollination vectors and yield, and others into insect population diversity under different management systems.

On the more practical side, we have a bunch of incredible students working towards gaining their Certificates II & III in Rural Operations. This provides them with important skills and qualifications in the use of tractors, stock management and chemical accreditation to name a few, making them invaluable in the rural industry.

Finally, our newest Year 10 Agricultural Science Prac classes have been busy bees learning all about the world of apiary, and building new native and European beehives from scratch! They will build the brood boxes, frames and all components over the term, then place a nuke (nucleus colony) in to establish a new living hive. They will also get to extract and bottle fresh honey from the hives across the farm. Exciting times ahead.

Jade King, Head of Agriculture