Agriculture and engineering students at Oatridge have also received a hi-tech boost from the gift of one of the latest auto-steer systems from tractor manufacturers New Holland.

The technology, worth up to £6,000, takes the guess-work out of tilling, planting and harvesting by controlling the tractor as it moves across the field. “It’s an amazing system,” says Farm Director Peter Scott. “We have fitted it to the latest New Holland tractor that we own and it means that our students can learn, using technology which is only now coming on to the market. It’s so accurate that the driver could literally sit and read a newspaper while it does the job. It means that work can go on in poor light and foggy conditions.”

The gift is the result of ever-closer relationships between the College and equipment manufacturers, designed to ensure that Oatridge students are learning at the cutting edge of technology. Peter Scott says: “The auto-steer system is something that, as a College, we wouldn’t have been able to afford as we find our budgets squeezed in the current economic climate. Most manufacturers are now introducing similar systems, so we are grateful to New Holland for allowing us to keep in step with developments.”