Bishop Burton College Floristry Students Prepare For Chelsea Flower Show

Six floristry students at Bishop Burton College are eagery looking forward to competing in the world’s biggest and most prestigious flower show.

The BA Floristry Design students will be showcasing their skills at the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) Chelsea Flower Show next year. The five-day show is visited by more than 155,000 attendees, including royalty, and covered extensively by the national BBC.

The six students – Olivia Whitley, Claire Lewis, Alana Howe, Eleanor Blake, Sammie-Leigh Todd and Sarah Wilkinson – were invited to compete at the highly prestigious event after securing an unprecendented double for the College.

They followed up winning ‘Gold’ at Harrogate Flower Show with another ‘Gold’ at RHS Tatton, earning the much-coverted invitation to take part at Chelea Flower Show.

For Olivia, Claire, Alana, Eleanor, Sammie-Leigh and Sarah, it has been a highlight of an “emotional” two-and-a-half years studying for their degrees at the College, near Beverley, and one they are determined to enjoy.

Claire said:  “We always enter Harrogate each year and that is part of an asignment but Tatton was something extra that we were invited to take part in. So we came in during our free time for Tatton. This was extra to our normal studies and work.”

For both shows, the team was tasked with coming up with a floral design inspired by the Rio Carnival – with a nod to the Olympic Games in Brazil. All entrants had the same brief, which for Tatton was specifically to design e Rio-themed floral outfit.

Claire, 45, said: “The brief was Rio Carnival. Tatton was to produce an outfit for Rio Carnival. The organisers decided on the theme – because of the Olympics – so everyone had the same brief.

“Both shows  involved huge amounts of work, mainly throughout the summer.”

Going in to Tatton, the team held out little hope of success, as they were up against experts and professionals from across the country. However, their victory there – on the back of their success at Harrogate – has propelled them towards the biggest flower show of all.

Olivia, 21, said: “I think for Harrogate, once we looked at what we had done had taken it there, we knew that it was good. Tatton – because it was totally new, and it was an RHS show – it was a bit more daunting. We were up against some really serious competition.

“It was hard work because we were on a time limit but it was good to get out of our comfort zone. Because it was our first time at Tatton, we felt we had to put that little bit more into it.

“So it was amazing to win. For florists, Chelsea is one of the biggest things that you can do. It was great that we won Tatton but it is even better that it means we can go to Chelsea. That is the big one.”

Claire said: “We are now looking forward to Chelsea in May and we assume it will be a theme again. I just want to know what it is going to be now.

“We are going to be nervous but excited. Once we know the brief, then it will feel real.”

Both Claire and Olivia say their time at the College has given them the skills and confidence they need to pursue their dream of a career working with flowers.

Claire said: “I came to the College so certain that I wanted a shop, that’s all I wanted. But it has opened my eyes to lots of different things and that’s the last thing on my list now.

“Because of dissertation work, I’ve recently developed an interest in British-grown flowers and actually growing the flowers that you use. I would like to go down that avenue and be a bit more specialised in that sense.

“The course is very design-led, rather than just your basic floristry where, OK, maybe you could go out and work in a shop or work for somebody and feel quite confident doing that, but with this being more deign-led you feel as though you can go out there and express yourself – be really original and really put your mark on your area of design.”

“It is fun while you are doing it and you get a lot of support. I’m confident that when I finish I’ll be fully prepared to get out there and mark my mark on the industry.”

Olivia added: “The course has given me more confidence to go out and make a career of working with flowers. I want to work in weddings and I’ve now got the confidence to say ‘yeah, I can do that wedding’, ‘I can go out and do that’.

“I’ve had great fun and it has also been stressful at times. Its been emotional – but emotional in a good way. I would definitely recommend it. Although it is a degree, it is much more than that. You aren’t just sitting down doing writing work. It is very practical.”

Ruth Robinson, course manager, said: “It is a wonderful achievement to win both Harrogate Show and RHS Tatton and it is every florist’s dream to compete at Chelsea Flower Show. The girls have earned that right because they are all extremely talented and hard-working individuals who work extremely well as a team.

“I am incredibly proud of all of them. It has been extremely satisfying to see how they have developed as florists during their time at the College. We endeavor to make sure all our students are fully prepared for a career in the industry by the time they finish their degree and I am very confident all six girls will go on to be very successful.”