Blacksmithing School makes regional finals for Countryside Alliance Award.
Herefordshire College of Technology’s National School of Blacksmithing at the Holme Lacy Campus has successfully made it into the regional finals for a Countryside Alliance Award.
Over 2300 nominations were received, so competition has been fierce.
The Awards are given to recognise and celebrate rural individuals and businesses who are ambassadors for both local produce and the communities to which they are central.
The School of Blacksmithing was nominated in the Daily Telegraph for the Best Traditional Business Award category. The criteria stipulated that entrants must play a role in preserving a rural skill or tradition, help keep skills alive that may otherwise be lost and contribute to rural heritage. The Blacksmithing School satisfied all the requirements, developing traditional skills and techniques that have changed very little over the last several hundred years, whilst also continually up-dating course content to reflect new techniques, ensuring the trainee can produce work of the highest quality.
The West Midlands heat took place between September and December. The Blacksmithing School were short listed for the regional final to be judged in January and, if successful, will go forward for the all-UK final which will be held at the House of Lords in March 2009.
