Myerscough College

Built on the site of the old Myerscough Hall, some six miles north of Preston, Myerscough College is a land-based Higher and Further Education college dating back to the 19th century.

The original college was agricultural, and based on the south side of Preston near Hutton, moving to the current site in Bilsborrow, near Garstang, in 1969. Various other Myerscough Centres have been added since - in Blackburn, Burnley, Liverpool and Manchester. Each offers a variety of land-based and sport courses. In addition, there is the Myerscough Centre in Dorset - The Lynwood Veterinary Hospital - which specialises in veterinary nursing.

Last year there were around 7000 students, of whom 2500 were full time, and more than 1000 studying Higher Education degrees in partnership with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). Subjects include motorsports, machinery engineering, sports and leisure, golf, arboriculture, landscape design, animal care, equine studies, horticulture, and farriery. Short courses for industry range from crane handling to crop spraying, and short leisure courses from caravan maneuvering to floristry.

There is an International Equine Arena, a golf course and Simulated Golf Training Centre, the National Arboricultural Centre, an off-road driving track, a dedicated Animal Academy, a Plant Centre with tropical and temperate greenhouses, Myerscough Gardens and Arboreta, sports fields and a Gymnasium, as well as woods, fields, ponds and a river all on the site. In addition, Myerscough College houses the Rural Business Centre, which provides support for rural business in the form of courses, advice, links and the Rural Business Incubator for start-up businesses.

We’re investing £20 million in campus developments here at Myerscough, to ensure that the facilities and resources available on your chosen course will mirror those used in industry - to help you prepare for the world of work. This also means that your learning experience is made more enjoyable, enriching and fun! We also have exceptional study facilities, including an extensive library, laboratories and fully resourced computer centre for all your assignment work and IT needs.

Myerscough College is proud of its commitment to original research. We believe that our teaching and learning, particularly at higher education level, should be underpinned by strong scholarly activities; the pinnacle of which is the College’s pioneering research programme.

Myerscough College has more than 30 lecturing staff actively engaged in research projects, often working alongside teams of undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Research projects are currently funded by the College, with external funding from government departments, private companies and individuals when available. The College is gaining a good reputation in industrial, governmental and academic circles for the research work it undertakes. We host a popular annual research conference (open to students) to highlight our work. Much of this work is undertaken in collaboration with other Higher Education Institutions including the University of Central Lancashire, Lancaster University, The University of Manchester, Anglia Ruskin University and The University of Liverpool.

In the agriculture and horticulture sectors we’re addressing sustainable production, following the Government Chief Scientist’s clarion call for the need for greater food production from less land, using less energy and consuming less water. This also links to coping with future climate change and the question over whether we can maintain ecologies that will support the earth’s biodiversity?

The College and its partners are leaders in the field of equine biomechanics research. Horse motion and movement can be significantly affected by the venue surface. Using expertise gained across a range of disciplines (including sportsturf and ecology), the team uses 3D digitisation-techniques and a biomechanical horse limb to assess the effects of changing surface conditions on equine movement. This team is assessing the surfaces used at several prestigious international equestrian events. Students from a range of disciplines have the opportunity to be involved in this exciting research. Further studies are investigating the factors which affect animal behaviour and equine performance in competition. Does success stem from the motivation of the horse-rider or motivation of the horse; and how can we influence this? What influence does the external environment have directly prior to competition?

Research in sports performance includes projects that assessed the sources of motivation amongst adolescent elite golfers and the use of imagery routines for rugby, golf and football. This motivational research also expands into the area of equine sports and the early influences experienced by young participants in The Pony Club. There are new projects utilising GPS tracking to quantify the physical demands of youth football and, secondly, to analyse the effectiveness of training methodologies in preparing players for the rigour of match play.