The Best Gamekeeping Student of 2014 Winner

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The National Gamekeepers' Organisation (NGO) has awarded the Frank Jenkins Memorial Trophy, sponsored by Musto, for the "best" gamekeeping student of the 2014 academic year, to Matthew Harrison at Bishop Burton College, Beverley, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The eighteen-year-old winner of this national award is a student with a vision, having already mapped out his career path. His ambition is ultimately to be a headkeeper working with wild lowland game.

Alan Titchmarsh, Patron of the NGO, who presented the award, said: "Gardeners nurture nature. Gamekeepers do too. Both occupations require care and attention to detail, and that can be an uphill struggle. I am very pleased therefore to be able to reward the hard work and dedication of Matthew Harrison by presenting him with the Frank Jenkins Memorial Trophy, sponsored by Musto. Matthew's a first-class student, who's set his sights on a future in keepering. I wish him well for a long and happy career."

The Frank Jenkins Memorial Trophy, sponsored by Musto, is judged annually by the NGO National Committee. The late Frank Jenkins was a well-known gamekeeper whose career spanned more than 60 years. The award bearing his name goes to the best full- or part-time gamekeeping student or apprentice of the academic year.

The winner Matthew Harrison, who comes from Slingsby, North Yorkshire, said: "I knew from about the age of 11 that I wanted to be a gamekeeper when I used to help my uncle, Clive Harrison, a keeper on the Nunnington Estate, North Yorkshire. When I left school I enrolled at Bishop Burton College on the Level 3 Countryside Management Game course. But my uncle, then headkeeper on the Castle Howard Estate, out of the blue, offered me my dream job, as an underkeeper working with wild birds. It was a dilemma: college or work? But I could do both, with one day a week spent at Bishop Burton."

Matthew added: "The flexibility of the course allowed me to follow my dreams and complete my qualification. I'd like to thank the college and my family for their support. I also want to thank the NGO for giving me this wonderful award. I consider it a great honour to be recognised as the student of the year. I'm going to carry on as a keeper. I hope one day to be a successful lowland headkeeper."

David Stanley, who is responsible for Musto's Country Sector marketing, said: "Musto is delighted to be involved with the NGO and the Frank Jenkins Memorial Trophy again, now in its fourth year.  ,It's a real pleasure to be able to help another graduating student passionate about pursuing a career as a gamekeeper, with a clothing outfit designed to perform day in, day out." Musto provides the winner with a collection of its superb all-weather shooting clothing including: a Keepers Jacket, a pair of Keepers Waterproof Trousers and a Melford Gilet.

Matthew Harrison also receives a shooting jacket from Frank Jenkins' daughter and son (Mr Jenkins' son is a gamekeeper member of the NGO), and an engraved tankard courtesy of the National Gamekeepers' Organisation National Committee.

Paul Baxter, Gamekeeping Instructor at Bishop Burton College in Yorkshire's East Riding, said: "Matthew is one of my students on the Level 3 Extended Diploma Countryside Management in Game. He's been passionate about shooting and gamekeeping from a young age, which was reflected in the high standard of his college work. He's always smiling and he's been a valued member of his group since day one. This is a fantastic achievement both for Matthew and the college."

Lindsay Waddell, the Chairman of the National Gamekeepers' Organisation, said: "The standard of entry is always high for the Frank Jenkins. It's never an easy task to pick the best of the best but Matthew certainly deserves to take the trophy home. I'd like to wish him well in the future and I hope he achieves his ambition to become a headkeeper one day. Well done."

Notes to Editors
For more information contact Julian Murray-Evans on 01766 523795 jmurrayevans@btinternet.com

Bishop Burton College is one of the UK's leading land-based colleges. It has a national reputation for quality and is the only UK college to hold Centre of Vocational Excellence status in both agriculture and equine. The college offers a wide range of land-based and non land-based courses for those looking for further or higher education and many courses offer clear progression routes from entry level through to honours degrees and beyond. Visit www.bishopburton.ac.uk

The National Gamekeepers' Organisation (NGO) represents ,the gamekeepers ,of England and Wales. It defends and promotes gamekeeping, gamekeepers and ensures high standards throughout the profession. Founded in 1997 by a group of gamekeepers who felt that their profession was threatened by public misunderstanding and poor representation, it now has around 15,000 members. For more information see www.nationalgamekeepers.org.uk