Royal Agricultural University Explained

Royal Agricultural University
Motto:Latin: Arvorum Cultus Pecorumque

(from Virgil's Georgics)
"Caring for the Fields
and the Beasts"
Established:2013 - University status
– College
Type:Public
Free Label:Patron
Free:Elizabeth II -->
Vice Chancellor:Peter McCaffery
Students:
Undergrad:
Postgrad:
Free Label2:Chair of Governing Council
Coor:51.5431°N -1.995°W
Line 1:0
Complete:119
Line 2:0
Tef:Silver

The Royal Agricultural University (RAU), formerly the Royal Agricultural College, is a public university in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. Established in 1845,[1] it was the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world.[2] The university provides more than 30 land-based undergraduate and postgraduate programmes to students from over 45 countries through the School of Agriculture, the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, the School of Equine and the School of Real Estate and Land Management.

History

The Royal Agricultural University was founded as the Royal Agricultural College in 1842,[3] at a meeting of the Fairford and Cirencester Farmers’ Club. Concerned by the lack of government support for education, Robert Jeffreys-Brown addressed the meeting on "The Advantages of a Specific Education for Agricultural Pursuits".[4] A prospectus was circulated, a general committee was appointed and Henry Bathurst, 4th Earl Bathurst was elected president. Funds were raised by public subscription: much of the support came from the wealthy landowners and farmers of the day, and there was no government support. Construction of the main building, in Victorian Tudor style, began in April 1845 and was designed by S. W. Daukes and John R. Hamilton, and built by Thomas Bridges of Cirencester. The first 25 students were admitted to the college in September 1845.

Queen Victoria granted a royal charter to the college in 1845 and sovereigns have been patrons ever since, visiting the college in every reign. King Charles III became president in 1982.

The college gained full university status in 2013 and changed its name accordingly.[5] It had students in the academic year and saw a 49% rise in applications between 2008 and 2013.[6] In 2021 the RAU expanded with the creation of a Cultural Heritage Institute based in Swindon.[7]

The RAU ranked in the top 10 universities in the UK for the best student experience and was the highest-ranking university in Gloucestershire, according to the Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023. [8] It was also shortlisted in the Small or Specialist category in the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2024.[9]

Farms

The university operates two farms close to the campus:

Harnhill Manor Farm was purchased in 2009 and with Coates Manor Farm totals[10] 491ha of land. The farm was managed organically for many years but all the land apart from the outdoor-pig unit was taken out of organic management. In 2011, an old sheep shed at the front of the farm complex was turned into the 'John Oldacre Rural Innovation Centre' a building designed for the training of students and members of the public in vocational skills such as rough-terrain forklift truck driving, blacksmithing, chainsaw and welding course, etc. The building cost £1.2 million to transform.[11] The JORIC was officially opened in March 2014 by Sir John Beddington and the site was visited in November 2013 by Prince Charles.

Sport

The university has a range of sports facilities on campus, including a gym, an all-weather pitch, and squash and tennis courts. Students participate in a wide range of sports including; clay pigeon shooting, cricket, equestrian, field sports (hunting, fishing and shooting), football, golf, lacrosse, hockey, netball, polo, rugby, rifle shooting, rowing, tennis and yachting.[12]

The Royal Agricultural University is just one of three remaining British universities (the others being the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford) to maintain their own beagle pack. Founded in 1889, the RAU Beagles is run by the students who whip in and hunt the hounds, and until the 2004 hunting ban, hunted hares in the countryside around Cirencester.[13]

Research

In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, 52% of the university's research was classed as 3* or 4* meaning it is world-leading or internationally excellent. In addition, half of the university's scientific publications were deemed to be of international quality.[14] In Research England's Knowledge Exchange Framework, the university was grouped into the STEM cluster – small specialist universities in medicine, science, and engineering – ranking second out of the nine institutions in the cluster. The university was recognised as having very high or high engagement in five of the seven criteria on which it was judged.[15]

Library

The university library holds around 40,000 print volumes, nearly 1,000 current journal subscriptions, more than 40,000 e-books and a growing number of full-text databases.[16] The main collection is supplemented by a support collection and a historical collection of texts, primarily on agriculture and estate/land management, dating back to the 16th century. The library also holds the RAU archive, a collection of documents relating to the institution since its foundation.

Controversies

In April 2023, the university was criticised by animal rights activists after students tied a dead fox to the roof of a car during a charity event.[17] The university launched an investigation and issued a range of sanctions relating to the incident that included permanent expulsion.[18]

Similarly, on 29 March 2023 it was reported by Channel 4 News that the Royal Agricultural College Beagles were allegedly hare-coursing - an act that has been illegal since 2005.[19]

Patrons

The patron of RAU is the current reigning British monarch King Charles III.[20]

Notable people

Staff

Alumni

Royal Agricultural University graduates have won a number of awards and prizes, including the Farmers Weekly Young Farmer Of The Year Award (James Price 2009[27] and Adrian Ivory 2008[28]).

Notable students from the institution include:

Arts and Media

Peerage

Politics

Sports

Other

External links

Notes and References

  1. [The Times]
  2. http://www.rau.ac.uk/the-rau/history-heritage RAU - History & Heritage
  3. [Henry Barnard#American Journal of Education|The American Journal of Education]
  4. The History of the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester Roger Sayce, p.1
  5. News: BBC News – "New" Universities Set to Be Created in England. BBC News. 23 November 2012 . 3 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20141017020314/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20464013. 17 October 2014. live.
  6. Web site: RAU welcomes more students as UCAS applications hit record high. RAU.ac.uk. 23 November 2015. 20 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20151124175152/http://www.rau.ac.uk/news/rau-news/rau-welcomes-more-students-as-ucas-applications-hit-record-high. 24 November 2015. dead.
  7. Web site: Cultural Heritage Institute (RAU Swindon) Royal Agricultural University . 2023-04-18 . www.rau.ac.uk.
  8. Web site: Did you know ...? | Royal Agricultural University .
  9. Web site: Why RAU? Royal Agricultural University . 2024-05-20 . www.rau.ac.uk . en.
  10. RAU.ac.uk/about-us/farms
  11. Web site: RAU – John Oldacre Rural Innovation Centre. Rau.ac.uk. 3 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20141226120728/http://www.rau.ac.uk/ric. 26 December 2014. live.
  12. Web site: RAU – Sports and Clubs. Rau.ac.uk. 3 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20141121153155/http://www.rau.ac.uk/student-life/leisure/sports-clubs. 21 November 2014. live.
  13. Web site: RAU website. 7 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131028201715/http://www.rau.ac.uk/student-life/leisure/beagles. 28 October 2013. live.
  14. Web site: New assessment commends world-leading research carried out at Royal Agricultural University Royal Agricultural University . 2023-01-06 . www.rau.ac.uk.
  15. Web site: 2 December 2022 . Royal Agricultural University excels in this year's Knowledge Exchange Framework .
  16. Web site: Library . Royal Agricultural University . 23 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200112190912/https://www.rau.ac.uk/university-life/campus-facilities/library . 12 January 2020 . live .
  17. News: Davis . Barney . Royal Agriculture University students parade dead fox on top of car . 28 April 2023 . Evening Standard . 7 February 2023 . en.
  18. Web site: 2023-04-14 . Students permanently excluded after cruel incidents, RAU says . 2024-05-20 . Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard . en.
  19. Web site: Cotswold Hunt suspended after claims that fox was buried alive . Cotswold Journal . 28 April 2023.
  20. Web site: Why RAU?. Royal Agricultural University. 11 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180111224113/https://www.rau.ac.uk/university-life/why-cirencester/why-rau. 11 January 2018. live.
  21. News: The Government Model Farm . . SA . 5 August 1882 . 7 July 2015 . 9 . National Library of Australia.
  22. Web site: Sir Emrys Jones. 14 July 2000. Telegraph.co.uk. 3 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150925091042/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1348364/Sir-Emrys-Jones.html. 25 September 2015. live.
  23. Web site: RAU – Buildings. Rau.ac.uk. 3 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150110204350/http://www.rau.ac.uk/the-rau/sustainability-at-the-rau/buildings. 10 January 2015. live.
  24. Web site: RAU – Sir Emrys Jones Memorial Trust Scholarships. Rau.ac.uk. 3 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150509080003/http://www.rau.ac.uk/study/fees-how-to-apply/funding-opportunities/scholarships/sir-emrys-jones-memorial-trust-bursaries. 9 May 2015. live.
  25. Web site: Professor Mark Horton Royal Agricultural University . 2023-04-18 . www.rau.ac.uk.
  26. Web site: Dr Cassie Newland Royal Agricultural University . 2023-04-18 . www.rau.ac.uk.
  27. Web site: FW Awards 2009 winner: Young Farmer of the Year – James Price – Farmers Weekly. Farmers Weekly. 9 October 2009 . 3 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20100402235307/http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2009/10/09/118149/FW-Awards-2009-winner-Young-Farmer-of-the-Year-James.htm. 2 April 2010. live.
  28. Web site: Adrian Ivory crowned Farmers Weekly Farmer of the Year. Farmers Weekly. 27 October 2008 . 3 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20101113215015/http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2009/03/11/112820/Adrian-Ivory-crowned-Farmers-Weekly-Farmer-of-the-Year.htm. 13 November 2010. live.

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