Horticulture Level 5 NC

What is special about this course?

The NC Horticulture course provides novice gardeners with the essential skills and knowledge required to hit the ground running in the horticulture industry, or to simply improve your own garden at home.  

You'll work alongside lecturers and peers who share a passion for horticulture on a number of practical and rewarding projects. You will build hands-on experience working in world renowned public gardens, such as Hermitage Park in Helensburgh, and build your industry knowledge through guest lectures and a variety of different site visits.  

The course is led by a team of experienced lecturers who work in, and have links to, local industry. With backgrounds from award-winning garden design to national garden centre management, they bring a breadth of knowledge, support and creativity to the teaching team.

As part of the course, you'll undertake a mixture of theory classes, which you'll attend at your local college centre (Dunoon or Helensburgh) and practical work, which will take place at Hermitage Park or in Dunoon. You will need to make your own arrangements for travel and accommodation (if required) when attending practical days.

Entry requirements

There are no formal entry requirements for this course however we recommend that you have a passion for working in the great outdoors. Applicants must be 16 or over at the start date of the course.

The course includes the following topics: 

• Plant Identification – including plant morphology, Latin naming and learning identifying characteristics of plants
• Garden Design – design a garden area of your choice, many students choose to design their own gardens
• Planting Design – learn how to combine plants and create beautiful borders
• Plantsmanship – learn how to design interesting plant collections
• Home and Allotment Gardening – how to plan crop rotations and produce beautiful fruit and veg and prune your fruit bushes and trees
• Organic Gardening and Permaculture – learn the basic principles of organics and permaculture and how to have an environmentally friendly garden
• Soils and Growing Media – learn how soils are formed, how to identify what soil type you have and how to improve it for the plants you would like to grow
• Botany and Plant Nutrition – An introduction to the science of how plants grow including water transport, photosynthesis and plant nutrients
• Weeds, Pests and Diseases – Identification and control methods for common garden problems
• Horticultural Machinery – Maintenance and use of lawn mowers, strimmers, hedge trimmers and more
• Plant Propagation – produce plants from seed, cuttings, division, layering and more!
• Planting and Maintenance – Practical maintenance of plants and gardens including pruning, soil preparation, planting out and plant protection
• Working with Others – We encourage our students to enjoy their time working together and supporting each other both in practical classes and when online

Equipment

Your bursary (for full time students) will cover the costs of personal protective clothing including steel toe cap boots, gloves and waterproofs which will be supplied at the start of the course.  

No other specialist equipment is required however if you have a favourite pair of secateurs you like to use please bring them with you. A scale ruler and colouring pencils or pens for garden design would also be useful. 

Fees

Most full-time students will automatically have their course fees paid for this course.   

If you have recently moved to, or do not normally live in Scotland, you may need to pay £5,970 in course fees, these can be paid in instalments. Families of Armed Services personnel are subject to different fees regulations and may also have to pay course fees. If you think this may apply to you, please contact us and we can advise you. 

This course is not available to students who require a Tier 4 Home Office visa to study in Scotland (international or EU). 

Part-time FE students who are on low incomes or in receipt of certain benefits may also have their course fees paid for them. Please refer to page 2 of our Fees and Funding Guide to see if you are eligible.  

Each single SQA unit costs £90. You may be able to apply for an Individual Training Account (ITA) to cover up to £200 of part time fees. 

Funding

Bursary for Living Costs 

If you are 18 years of age or over on the start date of your course, and will be studying full-time you may be eligible for bursary funding, depending on your household income. Our bursary fund is finite and is allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis so it’s important to make your application for bursary as soon as the application process opens in July. You will need to have accepted our offer before you apply. 

If you are under 18 you may be eligible for EMA. EMA is paid at a rate of £30 per week dependent on your total household income.  

Please see page 2 of our Fees and Funding Guide for full details of Bursary and EMA.  

You may also be eligible for assistance with travel and childcare, and we have discretionary funds for those students in need. You can find all the information you need in our funding pages.