School’s farm manager retires after 38 years

School farm manager Howard Wood is retiring after 38 years of service at Oathall Community College in West Sussex.

When Howard (pictured with some of the school’s pupils), former chairman of the School Farms Network, began working at the college, the “farm” was not much more than a pets’ corner with a few rabbits, chickens and goats. But today, it has its own flock of sheep, pedigree Ayrshire cattle and a piggery. Meat from the livestock is sold in the school’s farm shop.

The farm is now led by Howard and a stockman with students helping with the day-to-day work.

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“He has changed my life and others,” said former student Bradley Woodward who went on to do an apprenticeship at Cockhaise dairy farm in Lindfield. “Oathall students certainly know where their food comes from.”

Howard, more commonly known as “Woody”, by students, parents and the community, has made the school farm a profitable business, raising enough money to convert the former stockman’s store into a farm shop, which now employs a butcher.

His most recent project was fundraising to buy a new tractor as a retirement gift to the school.

“He has changed my life and others.”
Bradley Woodward

The farm’s success attracted the attention politicians and even played host to the Prince of Wales.

Students wrote to Prince Charles when the farm was in danger of closure due to cutbacks by the local education authority (LEA). He visited, and consequently persuaded the LEA to allow the farm to remain open.

The prince even paid tribute to Howard in a speech at his country house, Highgrove, to mark the launch of the Year of Food and Farming in 2007.

He said: “This remarkable man runs an outdoor classroom at his school and his lessons might include watching a calf being born dealing with the death of an animal or giving animals injections. Howard weaves every aspect of the curriculum into his teaching, from maths to art and science.

“He gets 100% pass rates for his students in agriculture, despite taking on students who are in danger of dropping out. Howard has managed to change countless lives for the better and that is a wonderful thing,” he added.

Howard’s last day is Wednesday 23 July. Oathall Community College has yet to fill the position.