A group of Bath College students have successfully completed a course in which they put on a hugely successful plant sale at Bath City Farm, all the while gaining skills in business planning, marketing, IT, budgeting customer service, as well as developing practical gardening skills.

The ‘Roots to Work’ programme, in partnership with Julian House, is one of many free Adult Community Learning courses that Bath College run.

The students worked twice a week at Bath City Farm for nine weeks, growing hundreds of plants from seed, while also creating promotional materials for their sale.

The course is designed for anyone who needs to build confidence to get into the workplace, whether they have been out of work for a number of years or have yet to be successful in securing a job.

Julian House refers students through their West of England Works service, which offers one-to-one employment support and a career planning and guidance service for unemployed people who have support needs in B&NES.

The sale was held at the beginning of July at the farm, and the students had hundreds of herbs, vegetables and flowers for sale.

The students were delighted when it was revealed that they had raised £400 for charity from their carefully nurtured plants. They decided to donate £100 to Bath City Farm for hosting them and £300 to Julian House.

Andy Charlton of Julian House commented: “It has been fantastic to see the positive change that the course has had in those who have been involved.

“We are incredibly pleased that everyone really enjoyed the experience and are now keen to implement and develop the skills that they have learned on the course, it has helped to boost aspirations for the future.”