DCG’s Broomfield Hall makes the case to become a regional strategic asset for the East Midlands

17 September 2026 3

Mandie Stravino OBE, Chief Executive of Derby College Group, addresses the delegates

Senior figures from across business, government and education, along with the Derby College Group’s senior team, have gathered at Broomfield Hall, Derby College Group’s landbased campus, for an exclusive stakeholder and policy event exploring the DCG’s role in delivering the East Midlands’ 10-year Growth Plan.

The event was opened by Mandie Stravino OBE, Chief Executive of Derby College Group, who spoke about the impact DCG has across the region and the significant part Broomfield Hall plays within that. She was followed by Alex Payne, Chief Executive of Landex, the national membership body for landbased colleges, who set out the national picture for the sector, before Jon Collins, Vice Principal for Landbased at Derby College Group, made the case for Broomfield Hall to be recognised as a regional strategic asset and a regional priority.

Mandie Stravino OBE, Chief Executive of Derby College Group, said: “Derby College Group touches almost every part of this region’s economy and community, and Broomfield Hall is a significant part of that story. Our purpose has always been simple: to provide an excellent education that acts as a catalyst for success in work, life and society, strengthening the talent pipeline our employers need and delivering real social justice for the communities we serve.

“Many of the young people who come through our doors here didn’t choose the postcode, the deprivation or the family circumstances they were born into, but we are determined that their future should never be anchored to their past. Broomfield Hall gives them routes into landbased careers that genuinely change their lives, and it gives our region the skilled people it needs to grow.

“We couldn’t do any of this without the employers and stakeholders who are every bit as ambitious for our students as we are, and bringing so many of them together here today is exactly the kind of conversation we should be having about Broomfield Hall and the future of the landbased industry.”

A gateway into the economy

Mr Collins told guests that Broomfield Hall sits at the intersection of the region’s biggest strategic challenges, from the drive for greener industries and sustainable food production to the need for a skilled workforce that can support both rural and urban growth. He described the campus as “already proving itself as the gateway into the economy” through which hundreds of skilled and motivated young people pass every year.

He set out the scale of that contribution: in the new academic year Broomfield Hall will be working with 1,461 students across 31 full-time, 2 part-time and 90 full-cost courses, roughly two thirds young women and one third young men, many of them the first in their families to go into higher education and many from Derby’s most deprived postcode areas.

Eighty-seven per cent of students finish their course either progressing their skills further or moving directly into a job. DCG has consistently received good and outstanding outcomes from Ofsted, and Gold for student outcomes and Silver for student experience from the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Jon Collins, Vice Principal for Landbased at Derby College Group said: “Broomfield Hall sits at the heart of the East Midlands’ ambitions for growth. It is where skills, sustainability and industry meet, and it is proving itself, day in and day out, as a gateway into the economy for hundreds of young people. We believe it deserves to be recognised as a regional strategic asset, and today gave us the chance to make that case directly to the people who can help us achieve it.”

A modern, technical land based sector

Mr Collins challenged guests to move beyond a narrow picture of landbased education as simply farming, horticulture or animal care. He pointed to modern agriculture’s growing reliance on data, technology, robotics, artificial intelligence, environmental monitoring and precision agriculture, and argued that today’s agricultural professionals need digital skills alongside practical expertise.

He also set out the DCG’s contribution to the green economy, from tree planting and habitat restoration to sustainable drainage and biodiversity projects, all of which depend on a skilled workforce, and pointed to the thousands of businesses across Derbyshire and the wider East Midlands, many small, family-run and deeply rooted in their communities, that rely directly or indirectly on landbased sectors for their talent pipeline.

As one illustration of that innovation in practice, Mr Collins referenced the DCG’s work on the Equine Carbon Calculator, developed with partner colleges and now embedded in the Department for Education’s new Equine T Level, and the College’s recognition as a finalist in this year’s Green Gown Awards.

“Today’s landbased education is about some of the fastest-growing and most strategically important sectors in the economy. If today’s workers are to maximise productivity and improve environmental outcomes, they need specialist education, and specialist education needs specialist facilities and specialist teaching. Broomfield Hall is not simply responding to industry change, we are helping to shape it,” he added.

The case for regional priority status

Mr Collins closed his address by asking stakeholders for a shared commitment to Broomfield Hall’s future, arguing that regional priority status would unlock capital investment in facilities including a new animal unit, glasshouses and an agri tech building, and allow DCG to go further in preparing students for modern farming technology and green and digital skills.

He argued that investment in Broomfield Hall strengthens all three pillars of Derby College Group’s strategy: educational excellence, social mobility and economic prosperity.

Andrew Cochrane, Chair of the Board at Derby College Group, said: “Days like this remind you why Derby College Group exists. Broomfield Hall is one of our great assets, and seeing so many senior figures from across business, government and education come together to talk seriously about the region’s future was a privilege to witness. As Chair, I could not be prouder of what our staff and students achieve, and of the role this College plays in the East Midlands’ growth story.”

Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Deputy Mayor of the East Midlands and Leader of Derby City Council, said: “Growth in the East Midlands depends on making sure our young people have the skills, opportunities and confidence to seize what is ahead of them. Seeing first-hand the work taking place at Broomfield Hall, and hearing the case for it to be treated as a regional priority, is a powerful reminder of what our region can achieve when education and industry work together. As Deputy Mayor, I want to see more of exactly this kind of ambition supported and championed.”

Scott Knowles, of East Midlands Chamber of Commerce, said: “There is a real need for innovation, and Broomfield Hall does this exceptionally well. It is essential that we nurture the specialist skills the landbased sector needs if it is to thrive and grow.”

Following the formal presentations, guests exchanged the conference room for a tractor-drawn tour across the Broomfield Hall estate to see the DCG’s landbased facilities, animal units and working landscapes in action.

Guests at the event included representatives from: