Kelmscott Senior High School agriculture students spent their Saturday in the paddock, taking part in the school’s Paraders Day competition in preparation for the upcoming Kelmscott Agricultural Show and Perth Royal Show.
About 20 students, as well some from Kiara College’s agricultural program, mustered up at the school’s farm site on Saturday morning to demonstrate their skills in cattle and sheep handling competitions that ran throughout the day.
Head of Agriculture at Kelmscott Senior High School, Derek Edmondson, said the Paraders Day gives everyone a chance to build confidence in the lead up for more competitive events.
“About four years ago we decided to run our Parader’s Day in the middle of term three, to give our students some experience of performing their skills in front of an audience in a competitive environment,” Mr Edmondson said.
“The students at the Paraders Day are hopefully the same ones who will go to the Royal Show and compete with our cattle and sheep there.”
Beginning with the sheep competitions, where students demonstrated their team drafting skills and solo handling abilities, the day continued into the afternoon with cattle competitions.
“This is a good practice activity, we want our students to learn,” Mr Edmondson said.
“Some of the judges are former students and they give a lot of advice, it’s really about the kids having the opportunity to say, ‘I can do this’, so that when they get to the Royal Show and they step into the ring, they think, ‘I’ve been here before.’”
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