Our florists have been decking the halls to make sure one of Cheshire’s most notable stately homes has a truly florally festive Christmas.

Four Level 2 students had the privilege last week of decorating the Christmas tree at Arley Hall, a country estate near Northwich. We have been invited to decorate the grand fireplaces and Christmas tree in the hall’s gallery every year for the past seven years and continued the tradition this year.

Although visitors will not be able to access the hall itself due to Covid-19 restrictions, they will be able to view the Christmas tree through a window. The theme this year is a very traditional gold and red with handmade recycled decorations made by the students.

As well as being one of Cheshire’s most visited attractions, Arley Hall and its gardens and estate have been used as the location for a wide variety of filming including the BBC’s Peaky Blinders, Antiques Road Show, Great British Garden Revival and Songs of Praise and ITV’s Coronation Street, Cold Feet and The Voice.

Working in such an inspirational setting gave our students the opportunity to experience event dressing at the highest level and was a great addition to their CVs.

Student Daisy said: “It was an honour to be asked to do the Christmas decorations in such special surroundings – and we had so much fun too!”

Course Manager Helen Cooke added: “I was so proud of the students. They were really professional and were fantastic ambassadors for Reaseheath.”

Since then the same students have visited Bridgemere Garden Centre to look at the wide display of decorated Christmas trees there, again an excellent preparation for their entry into industry.

Staying on the Christmas theme – our floristry department is running very popular weekend wreath making courses for the public (students’ work pictured below). The final three hour courses run on Saturday December 12 at 9.30am.

Email amanda.robinson@reaseheath.ac.uk or call 01270 613271 (option 1) to register.

Fancy floristry? Our Open College Network (OCN) Level 2 courses offer an introduction to professional qualifications or are great for personal interest. You’ll learn how to create hand tied bouquets, floral arrangements and wedding work and back up these practical sessions with a small amount of theory.

Courses run for 20 weeks: Fridays (mornings) from 22 January and Wednesdays (evenings) from 20 January 2021. Find out more here.