25 floristry students from Capel Manor College’s centre in Gunnersbury Park were amongst 600 floristry students taking part in the third Covent Garden Market College Day last week. Organised by New Covent Garden Flower Market with sponsorship from Lantra the Sector Skills Council and the London Development Agency, the event saw a Flower Market College Competition for learners undertaking Level 3 and 4 courses and a Taster Day for Level 2 students.
Floristry Coordinator and tutor at Capel Manor, Michelle Moore, said ”The event provided an exciting opportunity for our higher level students to take part in a competition that involves demonstrating their skills. It also serves as a good introduction for Level 2’s just starting out, as to how the buying experience fits into a retail florist’s daily routine.“
The taster day event taught the Level 2’s about the logistics of a wholesale market with workshops and demonstrations covering: how to engage with market traders, how to spot top quality materials and use them wisely, why working with seasonal materials makes sense, the origin of flowers, foliage and plants, the importance of listening carefully to a specific project brief, how to manage a budget and how to work as a team.
The brief for the Level 3/4 competition was to decorate a door, producing a floral display with a traditional, seasonal, country Art nouveau theme and with an end price of £90. Entrants were given a budget of £30 to spend within Covent Garden market and had to show the full costings, list the wholesalers they used, name the origin of the flower material and provide full Latin names with cultivars, all as part of the competition.
The range of flowers, foliage, plants and sundries available at Covent Garden Flower Market gave the students a large scope to explore more interesting varieties and seasonal materials than they would find anywhere else in the UK. The competition was the first of its type that Capel’s Level 3’s had been involved in, and to make it doubly hard they were competing against their counterparts. Hayley Bear one Level 2 student that was taking part in the Taster Day won a pair of secateurs for creating the best profile on her posy within the oasis workshop.
The Flower Market College Day event coincided with College’s Week which ran 9-15 November, a celebration of the opportunities colleges create for individuals, businesses and Britain. Capel Manor joined in College’s Week celebrations by holding a careers day event for existing students with industry experts coming in to centres to speak about different landbased career options. There was also an event open to all, with the Enfield centre opening its doors for visitors to come in and speak to staff about courses and have a look around. There was also the launch of the new prospectus for 2010-11.
