Tom Cotton has received £500 to help him gain qualifications to further his career.

An agricultural student has received £500 to help him gain qualifications to further his career.

The education and personal development award was made by Newark and Nottinghamshire Agricultural Society to Tom Cotton, 18, of Beacon Hill Road, Newark.

The money was presented by the society's chief executive, Adrian Johnston. It is the maximum amount available under the society’s education scheme.

Tom has just passed his extended diploma in agriculture at Nottingham Trent University’s school of animal, rural and environmental sciences at Brackenhurst Campus, Southwell.

He said: I am really grateful to the agricultural society for this help.

"It is really good to know that the society is practically supporting young people like me at the start of our farming careers. I have loved every minute of my course at Brackenhurst and this grant is the icing on the cake.”

Mr Johnston said: "Agriculture is a nationally vital industry and underpins the entire food and beverage sector. With a growing population and an anticipated need for 60,000 farmers to enter the industry in the next decade, agriculture faces a huge challenge to feed the country. We aim to stimulate people to enter our vital and increasingly technologically-advanced sector. We are proud to recognize and invest in students like Tom as they start off in agriculture.”

The scheme, started in 2008, aims to help young people studying agriculture to gain qualifications crucial to landing a job, such as driving with trailers, pesticide application, spraying or administering veterinary medicines. More than £65,000 has been awarded to 118 students since 2008.