Sam discovered his passion for the countryside after working as a labourer at Stansted Park and jumped at the opportunity of an Apprenticeship. He is working on a Level 2 Apprenticeship in Trees and Timber and after just a year in post, is progressing really well and is expecting to complete six months early. Sam attended College in a block week, which was the preferred arrangement with his employer.

As one of his tasks, Sam recently planted more than 1,700 trees in a selected area of the grounds. In recognition of this impressive feat the Stansted Park team have named this area of woodland Lock’s Piece after Sam – quite an accolade!

Michael Prior of Stansted Park says: “Sam is absolutely excellent – so dedicated and hardworking for a young man of his age. I know I can trust him to work independently and to our high standards. He is progressing so well, learning skills from other team members. The support from the College has been brilliant; I can’t speak highly enough of them. They keep us well informed, are completely reliable and efficient, although I knew they would be as I have a history with Sparsholt for work experience students as well. I have always been impressed with the quality of students and professionalism of the staff.”