Could you be this year’s Top Landscaping and Garden Design Student?

The application window for this year’s BALI Chalk Fund Top Student of the Year Awards 2024/2025 opened on Monday 17 March 2025.  This week, landscape, design, land-based and horticultural specialist college tutors will be receiving full details of how students can apply, the key dates and deadlines, useful links for online applications and further information.

Apply online

The BALI Chalk Fund Trustees are looking to celebrate and showcase the landscaping sector’s future leading lights. The Awards will champion our most promising Landscapers, Horticulturists and Garden Designers who are completing their training and academic courses at land-based and horticultural colleges and training providers across the country.

The window opens on Monday 17 March and student or apprentice applicants (Level 2 and above) will have until Friday 11 April 2025 to complete and submit. This year, students can submit their application online by visiting the BALI Chalk Fund website at www.balichalkfund.org.uk/top-student-award/

The Application

The application is the student’s opportunity to share what they have learned both vocationally and academically, how they have applied these skills in employment or training opportunities and which aspects of the course have interested them the most.  The short-answer questions focus on elements including:

• Knowledge attained
• Skills learned
• Benefits gained
• Aspects of the course of most interest
• Application of the skills learned
• Work and employment secured
• Use of the skills in daily tasks
• Further training plans

The Rewards

In one simple online form and short, under-100 word answers, there is the chance to win £100 as each college’s Top Student. Those nominated will then be entered into the National Student of the Year (Landscape and Garden Design Categories) with the chance to be selected as the overall winners.  These winners, notified in Autumn 2025, will be invited to attend the British Association of Landscape Industries National Landscape Awards, held in London and attended by over 1000 cross-sector landscape professionals.

The overall Winners (one in each category: Landscaping or Garden Design) will each receive £500 – and their college or training provider receives the same.

But much more important than any financial reward is the potential to promote young talent, their skills and for the respect and appreciation gained from industry peers at the highest level.  And all of this comes with the backing and potential exposure across landscape platforms supported by BALI, the BALI Chalk Fund Champions and Trustees.

Last year’s winners, Charlie White (Merrist Wood) and Jacob Carter (SRU Oatridge) are now in full time employment, enriched and invigorated by their achievements in the Awards. They said:

“I am beyond proud to have taken the top prize as such a well-respected event. The whole experience, being amongst such industry specialists – it was just fantastic.”

– Jacob Carter, BALI Chalk Student of the Year (Landscaping) 2024

“I hope that by winning such a prestigious award at 18 years old, that industry professionals will recognise my passion and commitment for pursuing a career in Garden Design and it will help me to stand out when applying for future positions in this field. When I shared the news of my award with Garden Designers I met recently, they were impressed with my achievement and encouraged me to keep in touch with them. I don’t think this would have happened had I not won the BALI Chalk Fund Award.”

- Charlie White, BALI Chalk Student of the Year (Garden Design) 2024