Oaklands Archive Introduction

The building known as the Mansion House provides a fascinating insight into what life at Oaklands College when it started out as an educational establishment in 1921 may have been like. Throughout the building, there are many historical artifacts providing a glimpse of the building’s history as an original gentleman’s country home in what was then the parish of St Peter Rural.

You can just imagine how it would have looked when it was first built around 1782 during the reign of George III. Carriages would have swept up the drive to the front of the house and visitors would have been welcomed into the grand reception area by an array of servants where a roaring fire would have greeted them on chilly days with walls hung with tapestries and paintings. The original fireplace and hooks are still present in this room creating a sense of its history as a home fit for the Georgian wealthy.

In 1844 an extension was added to the property in keeping with the original architecture. A tour of the building during modern times shows how many old fittings and fixtures remain on site providing a glimpse into the history of the building and the people who lived and worked here.

Up until the Second World War, the Oaklands site would have retained much of its natural rural beauty before undergoing wartime transformation yet whilst the site has been expanded considerably since then to meet the growing needs of its prospectus, it hasn’t lost that magical countryside feel as you arrive at the campus and follow the sweeping drive towards the site in front of you. At the Sandpit Lane end of the campus, the Italian Prisoner of War camp was located and whilst you cannot see any of the remnants of the encampment itself, you can see why it would have been located at the ‘top end’ away from the Mansion House and main college buildings. Attitudes towards POWs held in the UK were quite different from those in Europe and whilst there were effectively ‘alien prisoners’ their time at Oaklands would have been relaxed when it came to the security of the camp. They would have ‘worked the land’ whilst residing on site and got to know the students and staff based there throughout the war, including, no doubt many Land Army girls!

1414

The abbot of St Albans granted to Richard Slape land called Cokains Croft and 3 acres of land lying in Threhousfeld formerly held by John atte Hale (court roll 162v).

1436

Richard Slepe took ‘one virgate .... Called Thre housland’. In this extract, there is also a reference to ‘land lying beside Smallfordwent (Crossroads) between King’s Highway, land of Simon at More and Royecrosse (Ryecross) which would have been a crossing of the St Albans to Hatfield Road near the present Ryecroft Court (court roll 197).

1453

1. An entry fine (fee) of 2 capons was exacted for the transfer of land and holdings le Threhouses (court roll 206v).
2. The annual rent of Threhouses of £4.11s.3d (£4.56) went towards the renumeration if the singing
3. Reference to repairs at Threhouses to granary and dovehouse at cost of £32. (Arundel 34 (72)).
4. A list of lands of dissolved religious houses, St Albans, includes Threhouses being passed to Thomas Skypwythe (unidentified ref SC6).

1542

History of the Antiquities of Hertfordshire: Chauncey quotes a deed transferring the Tithes of Hay for the Manor of Park to Anthony Denny in which ‘Thread. Husses’ has been identified as a version of Three Houses.

1635

The note in the Oaklands archives references ‘an interesting document in the County Record Office reference CRO: 7656 which records the division of the ‘lands in the tenure of William Smyth of Three Houses, deceased between Hugh Smyth and Ralph Smyth.

1638

CRO 35772 contains a copy of the court roll endorsed ‘Sleapside Writings’ wherein the division of the property was canceled and the whole estate was handed to Ralph.

1782

Sources available suggest that the Mansion House we see now was built around 1782 but there is not a great deal of information to confirm this date. Certainly, from the architecture we can see today, it looks Georgian with Victorian alterations (this may be where the extension was added).

In a book by Nikolaus Pevsner (Buildings of England, Hertfordshire), he refers to Oaklands as ‘a romantic nineteenth-century conversion of a Georgian House, with Tudor trim applied and a castellated tower’. Historians have said that if there was an earlier house, this is now lost in time due to the current structure.

1835

Two drawings by Buckler of the building produced in this year are captioned ‘the seat of William Knight Esq’ the owner at that time.

1844

A tower was added and the Victorian extension to the property we can see today.

1845

Mr William Knight (of Oaklands) was present at the opening of the new Colney Heath Parish Church of St Marks.

1851

Three Houses was empty at the time of the 1851 census.

1861

The census entry contains three properties with Oaklands Mansion being owned by Edward Browne, a Corn Factor who lived at the property along with his wife Marion and seven domestic servants.

There are two other properties on the land; Oaklands Lodge which housed the family of the estate’s agricultural labourer and Oaklands Park (the Baliffs House) which was the home of Alexander Milne, the farm Baliff and his wife and family.

Given the recorded history of the area it is not surprising that in 1861, Edward Browne was farming Corn on the Oaklands site. In the 18th century, DeFoe recorded of St Albans that ‘the inclos’d Corn-Fields made one grand parterre ‘ and later, Drury and Andrews spoke about ‘the inclos’d Corn-Fields’. According to another contemporary writer, Hertfordshire was deemed to be ‘the first corn county in the kingdom’ along with a ‘sea of wheat and barley’ making it a perfect location for an agricultural college of the future.

1883

Local paper reports about a county ball in St Albans where the town hall was converted to a ‘palace of delight’ and furniture loaned by local gentry included plans from local conservatories of big houses in the area including Oaklands and Sopwell House which is now a luxury health spa visited by the rich and famous.

1901

Charles Dymoke Green and his son George Dymoke Green are referenced in St Albans Abbey. The family name lives on just a short drive away in Dymoke Green, Marshalswick.

1904

The Oaklands Estate was acquired by Graham Fish.

The property was occupied by the military during the First World War. At this time, ex-servicemen were enrolled in training under the Officers’ Agricultural Training Scheme whilst many of the normal college courses were paused due to the war. During the first world war years, the property appears to have fallen into disrepair during military occupation which was common at this time.

1917

Oaklands at this time was owned by Mrs Graham Fish who leased the shooting rights to Mr Roberts of Southgate (it is anticipated that her husband had died around this time). It is likely that the death of Graham Fish ultimately led to the sale of the estate in 1920 to Hertfordshire County Council where Oaklands ceased to be a residential estate and became a place of study.

1919

Whilst the world war had ended a year before, food production was of growing concern, particularly the decline in wheat production and the need to increase pig farming. Another equally challenging need was to find work for ex-servicemen.

Around this time Oaklands came to the attention of The County Land Agent. At the time the property was situated within 314 acres of land with the potential to convert the house and outbuildings into an agricultural college which could assist with the country’s recovery from the First World War.

Oaklands Land Registry

1920

In September Hertfordshire County Council brought the property through Hampton & Son of Cockspur St, London in May of the previous year. A fabulous map showing the estate was found amongst the original sale documents within the archives and shows Oaklands in all its rural splendor. The property was purchased from the late Graham Fish for £34,214. Due to the military occupation, it was in a poor state of repair, and improvements were funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Hertfordshire Institute of Agriculture, Oaklands (as it was first called).

1921

Prior to the 1914 – 1918 war, institutions such as Oaklands were in short supply and the Oaklands Old Students Magazine of 1950 (issue no. 19) states that during this time there were only half a dozen institutes in existence with less than 100 students between them.

Old Student Magazine

 

Oaklands sprang up as a direct result of the need for the UK to provide more of its own home-grown food. This was particularly evident during the war when the 1917 submarine campaign offensive was launched (which was Britain’s blockage across the North Sea and the English Channel). The blockage cut the flow of food supplies and fuel to Germany.

Germany then retaliated by using its submarines to destroy any neutral ships that were supplying the Allies with food and fuel.

The 1917 submarine campaign offensive almost brought the country to its knees! The German retaliation was intended to starve Britain into submission after three long years at war where the effects of food rationing were starting to really take effect on the populations’ mental and physical health.

Institute-oaklands

 

The Institute was opened in 1921 and Oaklands welcomed its first cohort of students including women (almost unheard of 100 years ago) and was set up to house men and women on site in separate dormitories from day one. The original ‘vision’ for the Institute was around ‘teaching the sons of farmers’ but Oaklands paved the way in terms of offering education to a wide range of students from mixed backgrounds, so it was never ‘exclusive’ and it welcomed applications from both sexes so it did not discriminate. This was quite unusual for post-war Britain education at the time!

Course of instruction

 

A fabulous photograph taken in 1921 shows the then Principal, J Hunter-Smith during a visit to Oaklands by Sir Henry (Harry) Lauder. Whilst this name means little to us now, Sir Harry, back then was then a famous singer and comedian and a friend of world-famous comedy actor, Charlie Chaplin. Lauder at the time this photograph was taken was staying just a stone’s throw away with the Simmons family who farmed at Marshalswick.

In the first issue of ‘Unbalanced Rations’ (vol. no 3 undated), a Christmas Playlet is featured which centers around members of staff describing their characteristics offering a fascinating insight into the people who were part of the early staff group at Oaklands. Here’s what the students had to say about their 'then, Principal, J Hunter-Smith!!

Unbalanced Rations

The college had its very own Beekeeper and during a recent visit to the site, it was confirmed that there were 300 years’ worth of bee generations residing in the Mansion House roof!

A Christmas playlist

 

J Hunter-Smith was appointed as the original principal, and he stayed with Oaklands for 29 years finally retiring in 1950. In 1937 he received an MBE for his services to agricultural education which is an amazing achievement. His photograph and name appeared many times in the college archives, and he was clearly well-respected by his students. In fact, he was there for so long that Oaklands was always associated with Boland as ‘the principal’ for many years after his retirement.

J Hunter Smith

Another early influencer linked to the college was D Crawford, Esq, MBE (died 1939). He was so committed to the Institute’s vision that he persuaded Hertfordshire County Council that Oaklands would make a good site for a farming institute. He remained actively supportive of Oaklands for many years, ensuring that the Victorian attics in the old house were appropriately renovated into comfortable dormitories. He was also instrumental in introducing the glasshouses and original workshop and continued to campaign for improvements in the layout of the farm.

1922

The Oaklands prospectus for 1922 – 1923 lists out its small staff group including two women: Miss Trippe (Dairy Instructress) and Mrs Day (Matron). Whilst women were welcome to study, they could only become dairy maids and not farmers. Apart from anything else, Oaklands also employed a working beekeeper on site who will have tended to the ancestors of the bees currently residing in the Mansion House roof and had done so for many generations previously.

Izziddenne Shaura

This is a stunning graduation photograph of one of Oaklands earliest and most prestigious of early graduates.

Former student Izziddenne Shaura graduated from Oaklands and later became the Minister of Agriculture for Saudi Arabia. Izziddenne was born in Palestine, the son of Haj Said Shaura who was a landowner and exporter of barley from Gaza. He came to study at Oaklands at the age of 19 in 1922 paying fees of 50/ per week which included the use of a private room. Izziddenne returned to Oaklands for five weeks in May 1925 to study general agriculture which is when the photograph is taken of him in his graduation gown now aged 22 years.

Throughout the many issues of Oaklands Old Students Magazines (dating back to the early 1920s), each publication demonstrates the mobility of the students who graduated from Oaklands from the outset and were then dispersed to the four corners of the world.

Graduates of Oaklands went on to practice their craft in far-flung places such as Venezuela, India, Canada, and Australia to name but a few. Letters from former students appear in the student’s magazine where they talk about the environmental and cultural challenges, they are facing with practicing the art of horticulture and/or agriculture overseas.

1936

The First Rugby Football Team was established, and this later became known as the elite Oaklands Wolves Sports Academies which included teams in men’s and women’s basketball, football, rugby, cycling, athletics, hockey, and netball.

 

 

Students attending Oaklands during the 1930s were expected to comply with a clear set of rules and disciplines which are published in many of the old prospectuses.

 

1939 – 1945

By this time women were the majority at Oaklands which became a centre for Land Army training. Oaklands would have trained many women during this time particularly as there was huge pressure nationally to make good use of any land that could be used for cultivation and Oaklands would have been ideal for a Land Army setup.

The Land Army was set up in response to the reduction of food imports due to the outbreak of WWII and with food stocks starting to dimmish, it became essential for the UK to produce as much of its own food as possible to feed a war-torn nation. Oaklands started to welcome women into the Land Army from September 1939. The first known entry in the student records is for Phyllis Boutell who came to Oaklands in October 1939. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to easily identify Land Army girls from the records as this is the only entry found during an initial look at the records that makes any reference to them.

Originally only a small portion of women were found employment on the land but by January 1940, normal courses resumed with five places per month reserved for Land Army trainees; the girls were looked after by Miss Peacock. During their time at Oaklands these young women were trained, amongst other things, to be tractor drivers. Harry Matthews, a former Pigman at the Institute commented in the 1947 Oaklands Old Students Magazine (issue no.16):

“Taking the country as a whole, the land girls have been our salvation – they have done a marvelous job. I have particularly in mind two London girls who helped me prior to the 1943 pig sale. They scrubbed the Large Whites until the animals must have tingled.”

This is interesting as the 1930 – 1931 prospectus for Oaklands states:- “A limited number of women students are enrolled. They may take any one or more of the courses open to male students. Very few girls are fitted for work in general agriculture; it is more usual for them to take Dairying, Horticulture, Poultry-keeping .....” `

A far cry from the Land Army activities during WWII some 10 years later where women were learning to drive tractors at Oaklands (traditionally men’s work) amongst other things!!!

Without a doubt, romances must have blossomed at Oaklands during the war years as, sometime after 1941, Italian prisoners of war captured in the Middle East were brought to the UK and some of them were located within the grounds of Oaklands. No buildings or records survive into 2023 that provide us with a glimpse into the past; we only know where they were located on the campus. It was thanks to discussions with Pat Joyce that we were able to establish that an Italian prisoner of war camp was located at Oaklands and that they worked the land there alongside the UK Land Army girls!

As Britain was suffering from a labor shortage, prisoners were used as labor on farms across the country which explains why they were deployed at Oaklands. There are historical references to an Italian Prisoner of War camp located outside of north London; whilst we have no evidence to support this an educated guess may suggest that the location could have been Oaklands.

During conversations with Pat and Lorna, they both verified that the Italian Prisoner of War camp was situated there. Lorna was able to tell me that she was speaking to a gentleman visiting Oaklands around five years ago who told her that ‘the last time I came here was as a child; it was a prisoner of war camp back then’.

Next to nothing remains on the site other than a pile of rubble located next to Jersey Farm which houses the remains of the POW camp. What does survive by way of legacy to the Prisoners of War is their expert handiwork; brick-built drains are situated all over the campus which were built by the prisoners. Oaklands sits in a basin, everywhere else is uphill from the campus so the land could easily become boggy if not well drained. Natural water springs are situated in the soil across the land so the ground, whilst fertile gets wet; good drainage is essential to stop crops and flowers from rotting, which explains why these drains were built. Without them, many crops would have been ruined as the UK is famous for being rainy and damp! According to one current employee, James, the drains are ‘works of art’. Despite having had no maintenance for 70 years they are apparently in great condition, and they continue to drain the land across Oaklands very successfully!

As a direct response to WWII, the Black Barn was built at Oaklands which used to house munitions and aircraft parts. At this point in our wartime history, Oaklands was surrounded by British aerospace with many airfields adjoining the Oaklands site. It made sense to house munitions on site away from the main aircraft bases which would have been a natural target for enemy attack. However, Oaklands did come under air attack at one time by enemy aircraft, but this is likely to be because the land was situated so close to the surrounding airfields.

Over 40 years ago there were still spitfire wings hanging up in the rafters of the Black Barn providing another glimpse into the history of Oaklands.

At the outbreak of the war, John David Hunter-Smith, son of the then Principal, enrolls at Oaklands for a six-month course in Horticulture at the age of 16. Like many of Oaklands graduates, John later appears to have set his sights on working overseas, where in 1945 he was resident in Trinidad BWI where he was engaged in working within the Colonial Agriculture service moving then onto New York that same year.

The student records for that year show some interesting entries which are reflective of the time. Austrian twins, Peter and Paul both from Vienna came to study for six weeks aged 16 at the time and in the same month, another set of twins appear in the admission books. Franz and Gunter Weiss were both aged 17 when they arrived at Oaklands in October 1939. Their guardians were from the Jewish Refugees Committee. The Committee had been formed in 1933 to help arrange for the admission of refugees to Britain as well as arranging training, employment, and re-integration. The twins left Oaklands on 6 July 1940. The records also state sadly that they were both ‘interned’ on 25 June 1940 which was prior to their official college leaving date.......... as they were being resettled here, they would have been taken someone in the UK for internment for the duration of the war.

By 1940, another interesting entry in the student records is for that of 60-year-old student who studied for a short while at Oaklands, leaving in February 1941! That same year saw a large influx of female students sponsored by Studley Horticultural and Agricultural College in Worcester who may well have joined the Oaklands Land Army. In total, eight girls were sponsored and joined Oaklands from Studley College which had been established by 1898. By 1940 Oaklands was certainly housing five girls on site for the Land Army.

Oaklands during the war years would have been full of life and activity as its records show.

One of the entry conditions for all male students joining Oaklands at this time was that they had to join the Home Guard and attend training on a Sunday. Some may remember the old TV comedy programme of ‘Dad’s Army’ which was centred entirely around the Home Guard and often poked fun at its purpose. However, the Home Guard had a much more serious objective and was seen as an essential secondary defence component for the British Army to help win the war against Nazi Germany. The Company HQ was at Oaklands and the then Principal, Hunter Smith was Company Commander with a platoon of around 80 volunteers in total.

Whilst the wartime students and staff at Oaklands were not ‘in the thick of it’ being on the outskirts of London, they were subjected to frequent air raids. During an air raid in February 1942, a student by the name of James Sidney Pugh was killed whilst saving the life of another student. James, who was from Barnet, had studied at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School and had been a student at the college between 1934 – 1935. According to the ‘Oaklands Old Students Magazine’ (no.15 1946) and eyewitness account, (a student by the name of G L Higson), an enemy plane had dived low over the nursery area whilst machine gunning anything and everyone in its path. James heroically dived on top of his fellow student worker (who is not named in the magazine report) with no regard for his own life; James saved his life, despite the lad being mortally wounded from the air raid attack.

Roll of Honor - 1939 -1945

 

Several students lost their lives during World War and are mentioned in the Roll of Honour which appears in the old stable block (now a restaurant) and in the old hallway/reception area. They are also featured in a copy of the Old Students Magazine (which does not contain all the names):-

Despite the dark days of war dragging on for everyone, this year marked the marriage of two former students, Robert Cedric Dale and Ruth Audrey Morrison which was cheerfully reported in the Old Students Magazine!

1946

Mary Isabella Harris (Molly) was a student between 1945 – 1946 and most likely a land army girl. She came from Nunhead, Southeast London and her beautiful gem of a poem ‘Oaklands’ appears on page 9 in the 1947 Oaklands Old Students Magazine (issue no.16). Her life at Oaklands would have been very different from the challenges of living in Nunhead at the end of World War II where, amongst other things, living conditions would have been really difficult and often unpleasant as a result of the bombing raids during the Blitz and beyond.

Molly’s beautiful poem provides us with a window into life at Oaklands at the end of the Second World War:-

‘Oaklands’ (with apologies to the author of ‘Sherwood in the Twilight’)

Molly Harris - Poem

 

Molly Harris (1945-46)

It is hard to imagine Oaklands today during war-torn times, but this poem leaves a fabulous legacy of life at Oaklands 70 years ago.

1948

As the country started to recover from the Second World War, Oaklands students were comprised of ex-servicemen and women (studying horticulture) with agricultural students drawn mainly from young men whose period of National Service had been deferred. With the pressure on to produce more home-grown produce in post-war Britain (which was subjected to rationing right up until 1954.

At the outset of World War II, Britain was importing 20 million tons of food every year including large amounts of dairy and meat. Despite the lessons from World War I, Britain still hadn’t fully embraced the requirement to reduce its overreliance on imported goods.

Oaklands post war role therefore became even more vital in terms of the work it was doing with agriculture and horticulture along with the students it was producing.

1949

In his final Presidential Letter, the Principal writes that Harry Batteson (1937 – 38 and 1946- 47) and Joan (who worked in the office at Oaklands) were congratulated on their marriage in the 1949 (no.18) edition of the Old Students Magazine. The same year, Mr Glazebrook set sail for NZ (July 1949) with his wife to take up a post at the Canterbury Agricultural College – aged 14 he had just passed his school certificate with nine credits.

1953-1954

The late Horticulturalist, Roger Aylett was a pupil at Oaklands during this time. After he graduated, he started his own business at the tender age of 21 and went on to win many horticultural awards including 36 consecutive Gold Medals between 1961 and 1999 at the Royal Horticultural Society shows.

In the 1980s this by now famous alumni came back to Oaklands as a Governor and in 2005 he published his autobiography ’50 Golden Gardening Years’. Roger has been described by many as a ‘pioneer’ and was especially delighted in 1998 to receive the award of the Veitch Memorial Medal for his outstanding contributions to the science and practice of horticulture.

His legacy lives on in Aylett Nurseries Ltd which continues to be run by his family.

1954

Discussions with current employee Lorna, revealed that the film called ‘The Wicked and The Good’, starring actress Diana Dors, the UK’s then answer to Marilyn Monroe, was filmed in the Sapsed room and outside the Mansion House. Diana was a huge movie star during the 1950s and 1960s so in 1954, it would have been exciting to have a film crew and a star like Diana filming at Oaklands! The opening sequence shows the external view of the building and views to the front of the building including the beautiful rural countryside.

1961- 1967

Current employee Nicky is quite unique; she currently works at Oaklands, however in 1961, she moved to Oaklands aged 11 as her father was offered a job there as the Farm Mechanic; the mechanic’s garage was a large building with blue doors, and as he was a lorry driver, he regularly drove to Covent Garden at night taking Oaklands grown produce up to Covent Garden market. In the summer holidays Nicky said that they used to go with him.

Nicky’s experience of growing up at Oaklands was brilliant, she feels a strong attachment to the site and whilst she does not mind change, she sometimes finds it hard when things disappear from Oaklands such as buildings! She talks about a Victorian house where the principals once lived , where the principal lives now was once the Vice Principal’s house as the Victorian property has now gone. Nicky describes 1960s Oaklands as ‘like a little village’. At the time there was a swimming pool on site which has since been filled in. Every house on the Oaklands site had a family in it, and she lived in North Drive. She recalls that Les Shepherd oversaw all the greenhouses and a boiler man lived onsite to ensure that the greenhouses kept running 365 days of the year. There is still a Victorian Lodge house situated at the front entrance to Oaklands; Nicky recounts happy childhood memories of cycling through the college leaving their bikes with whoever lived there at the time.

As young children they were able to engage in casual labour at Oaklands aged around 12-13 years; the fields were market gardens so all summer they were fruit and vegetable picking and then they would get paid for all their hard work once they handed in their dockets. When the October half term holidays came this was potato picking session for the children living on site; Nicky recalls earning £15 and then she blew it all in Chelsea Girl on a skirt and jumper!! She also used to do the cleaning of the rooms in the Mansion House and was paid for that part of a as casual working arrangement. Aged 15 she started every day in the kitchen within the canteen. Nicky would cycle through Oaklands in the morning and out on the lane to do her paper round, came back home, washed, boarded the train to school and then worked in the kitchen again after school!

Living on site throughout the summer the children had free reign of the tennis courts and the swimming pool. Nicky eventually left Oaklands at the age of 17, but her parents remained on site until her dad retired and then they had to leave the site as the accommodation was needed for his successor.

There were lots of young people studying agriculture and horticulture living and working on site (they were call the ‘Agri’s’ and the ‘Pansie Pushers’) so this is how Nicky’s sister met her husband as he was a young farmer at Oaklands. Bedrooms in the attics in the Mansion House where set aside for the domestics and the Matron’s flat was on the first floor of the Mansion House. Nicky recalls the old house having two sets of stairs so you could sneak up the back way to get into the building to sleep upstairs unseen by Matron as other friends were on site sleeping in the attics. Most people were employed at Oaklands were married so husbands tended to have the main jobs ,and wives were employed as domestics. Nicky recalls that the barn opposite their house was set on fire by two eight-year-olds and it blew the windows out of their house; she also recalls being woken up at 6am every single day by the pigs who just wanted feeding!!

Growing up at Oaklands, Nicky feels she knows every inch of the place in terms of its layout. She speaks fondly about the Mansion House where there used to be tea lady called Fanny who made cups of tea for the students and the staff each tea break. The Agri’s looked after the milking, the Pansie Pushers looked after the gardening and environment so the whole place was immaculate. In modern times, the campus has become a bit tired, whereas Nicky recalls that the driveway was beautiful as it was lined by Rhododendrons alongside many trees; since then it hasn’t been kept the same. The entrance to Oaklands College had two enormous gates just after the Victorian lodge house (a stone pillar from the old gates is still there).

Nicky’s been working at Oaklands for about six years so has come full circle by returning to now work at Oaklands as their Examinations Officer. She is very fond of the place and has a strong attachment to it so feels sad when there’s change as she loves the history associated with the place but accepts that things have to change. For example, where the Equestrian Centre is located today, when Nicky lived at Oaklands it was an apple orchard which provided lots of great produce for the Covent Garden markets.

Like many others, Nicky may have left Oaklands as a teenage but remembers returning there for a wonderful party which she believes to have been the Queen’s 25th Silver Jubilee celebrations.

1968 – 1969

Celebrity Gardener Alan Titchmarsh became a student at the college and teaching staff remembered that he was very homesick whilst studying at Oaklands being so far away from his Yorkshire home. A record of his admission is shown in the Herts CC Institute of Agriculture Student Register. After leaving Oaklands, he went on to study at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew for a Diploma in Horticulture.

Oaklands Students 1968

He then graduated from Kew and in 1974 went into gardening journalism moving eventually into television where he appeared on the long-running TV show ‘Nationwide’ after which he was invited to present the BBC coverage of the Chelsea Garden Show after which his TV career has continued to flourish and grow just like his craft!

Alan Titchmarsh the student

It was an immense pleasure to speak to a number of current employees who have all worked at Oaklands for many years. In fact, one employee told me that people ‘leave but often come back’ as Oaklands ‘really is a lovely family-orientated place to work’. There’s almost a ‘homing pigeon’ feel to the place. As a testament to that statement from James, there was a reunion of students and teachers at Oaklands last year with students attending who were here in the 1940s!

The current Hall of Fame

There are several more recent and notable alumni who studied at Oaklands who are now excelling in the sporting world which is very different from the early days of studying horticulture and agriculture at Oaklands!

Lewis Hamilton     Formula 1 Racing Driver    2002 - 2003

Alex Scott              Footballer (Arsenal)          2002 - 2003

Nick Tompkins      Rugby Union Player          2012-2013 & 2022-23

Ben Lawson          Australian Actor.                2012-2013

Jordan Thomas    Footballer (Hampton & Richmond)   2012-2013

Jack Singleton.    Rugby Union Player          2012-2014

Olivia Breen          Welsh Paralympian          2012-2016

Daryll Neita.          Olympic Athlete            2013-2014

Joel Kpoku            Rugby Union Player       2015-2016

Maria Lyle               Athlete                           2016-2017

Many of us will recognise these famous names whose educational successes at Oaklands set them on their respective pathways to success; here is a taster of how some of them have got on since leaving Oaklands........................

One of Oaklands most well-known alumni is world-famous Formula 1 racing car driver Lewis Hamilton who was born in Hertfordshire and according to Oaklands records, he attended the college between 2002 – 2003. His love of cars began at the age of six when his father brought him a remote-controlled racing car. He then began karting two years later aged only eight and he then won both the British Karting Championship and STP karting championships.

Lewis Hamilton - Oaklands

His Formula 1 racing career began when he joined the McLaren Young Driver programme in 1998 leading to him driving in Formula 1 with McLaren from 2007 to 2012; his racing career continues to go from strength to strength.

Born in Hertfordshire, Jack Singleton is a professional English rugby player and studied at Oaklands between 2012 – 2014 after which he joined the ‘Worcester Warriors’ spending five years with them. He then returned to the Saracens Academy in 2019, before joining the premiership Rugby Club Gloucester on a permanent basis.

Jack Singleton Oaklands

Next up is Paralympian Olivia Breen studied at Oaklands College between 2012 – 2016. Since leaving Oaklands she has competed for Wales and Great Britain in athletics. In the IPC Athletic European Championships Olivia won a bronze medal in the 100m and 200m sprint and was the youngest member of the GB Paralympics team in 2012 competing in the 100m and 200m sprint and the women’s relay. Olivia has also competed in the 2020 Olympics and the 2020 Commonwealth Games.

Olivia Breen Paralympian Oaklands

Moving on to British sprinter and Olympic Athlete Daryll Neita who studied at Oaklands College between 2013 – 2014. She won her first individual medal in the 100m splint in the European Championships and Commonwealth Games and was a part of the 2016 GB Olympic team securing a bronze medal in the women’s relay race.

Daryll Neita-Oaklands

Rugby Union player Joel Kpoku attended Oaklands College between 2015 – 2016. Joel began playing rugby for his school at the age of 12 and in 2013 joined the Saracens while playing for the Oaklands Wolves Rugby Academy. In 2019 he was shortlisted for the Premiership Rugby Cup Breakthrough Player Award. Joel continued to play with Saracens until 2021 when he left England to play in France to join the team ‘Lyon’.

Joel Kpoku - Oaklands

Another former Oaklands student, Maria Lyle is a para-athlete who studied at the college, and she was also a member of the Oaklands Wolves Sports Academy. Aged only 12 years Maria achieved a record-breaking time of 32.37 seconds in the 200m sprint at the Birmingham games; sadly, she was not old enough to compete in the 2012 Olympic games!

Maria-Lyle-Oaklands

Upon leaving Oaklands College, she went on to study for a degree in Sports Coaching. Then in 2014, she represented Great Britain at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha. Maria just kept on getting better and better as she was constantly beating record times in the 100m and 200m sprints which she had already set. In 2018 she competed in the Commonwealth Games in Australia and won a silver medal and was named Para-Athlete of the Year in 2015 and 2019.

Finally, there have been a few famous teachers at Oaklands including current English professional football manager, Emma Hayes, who previously taught and Oaklands! Her sporting career has gone from strength to strength, and she is currently at Chelsea Football Club.

Emma Hayes - Oaklands

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Oaklands now and in the future

Oaklands has a long-standing connection with former student Alex Scott, MBE (Arsenal Footballer, Sports Presenter and Pundit). Oaklands College, (which is one of the first female football academies in the UK) has teamed up with Arsenal Women to provide a new football education opportunity for 16 – 19-year-olds offering them a unique opportunity to study alongside participating in a high-level football development programme which is amazing! Young women will now have the opportunity to be coached by experienced Arsenal Women FC licensed coaches on-site at Oaklands.

Alex was a student at Oaklands College between 2002 – 2003. Prior to this, at the age of eight, she was signed by Arsenal Football Club where she remained until 2005. Alex played for the England’s Women’s Football team, including the under-19s and under 21s and

th she competed in the 2012 Olympic Games with the GB football team where they finished 5.

Her football career ended in 2017 and she was the second most capped England player with 140 appearances!

Throughout her football career, Alex also appeared on many sporting channels such as Sky Sports and BBC Sports.

In 2021 Alex was announced as the newest presenter of ‘Football Focus’ after which she picked up many TV presenting roles and was the main presenter of the BBC’s coverage of the 2020 Olympic games. She is also the founder of the Alex Scott Academy for female footballers aged 16-19.

Alex has 2 references to Oaklands in her book 'How Not To Be Strong'.

They worked towards her post-certificate in education, funded by Oaklands.

She was offered a job at the college teaching the same subject to both Arsenal girls and Saracens rugby boys plus kids who were not part of the sports academy but wanted to get a BTEC in sports science. The kids loved going to her class even though she was not much older than those she was teaching. At the time she was an Arsenal player, an England player and a part-time teacher at Oaklands.

And as if this wasn’t enough, Oaklands are now the Further Education Provider for the Arsenal Women FC FA WSK U21s Academy Programme; students at Oaklands may be invited to join the programme offering yet another unique opportunity to its female students.

Ongoing investment is planned for Oaklands including new pitches and a state-of-the-art residential facility to provide on-site accommodation for future Sports Academy students.

Having explored this rich and diverse history at the college, one surely must ask, could Oaklands have now come full circle in terms of its teaching offering? Should the college consider returning to its original ‘crafts’ of horticulture and agriculture as part of its growing curriculum of the future (excuse the pun!)?