Tuesday 9 September 2025
Posted by Carley Daniels, Head of Faculty, Animal & Veterinary
Like most other colleges in the UK, Moulton College this year has embarked upon the new T-Level qualification in Animal Science and Animal Management for our students.
Within our courses we don't just want our students to have the best experience possible at college, we also want them to have real wild experiences, in real life scenarios out in the real world! So we've entered in a partnership with Flooglebinder, and they have created a fantastic opportunity for our students to implement their knowledge and skills in the wild South African bush.
South African sunset
Elephants in South Africa
Rhinos in South Africa
Bonfire in the South Africa Bush
Giraffe in South Africa
Delicious food at the accommodation
Carley Daniels in South Africa
Bush walk in South Africa
Drone surveillance in South Africa
Zebras in South Africa
Carley Daniels in South Africa
Tour group in front of sunset in South Africa
Delicious food at the accommodation
Footprint tracking in South Africa
As Head of the Animal & Veterinary Faculty, I got the opportunity to head out to South Africa this summer, to check out this trip for our students, ensure it is suitable for their learning and to make sure that all health and safety standards are met as well as ensuring that the student experience will be outstanding: and wow was it outstanding!? I can honestly say that I had the absolute best time (and this was my third time in the South African Bush!). The amount of experience gained, the accommodation, the food, the expectation and gain of life skills was absolutely phenomenal!
Like everyone else I had my trepidations about going on this trip as I was travelling alone with a group of people that I had never met. I'm also not a good traveller as I get extremely travel sick! But my main trepidations were around camping in the middle of the African Bush in a reserve with no fences, where the big five roam free. This was an incredible experience.
It was an absolute joy to switch off from the normal hustle and bustle of life. To not have any screens. To be up and out by 6:30am every day in the dawn sunrise, to watch all of the animal species, to learn the tracks and signs of the animals as well. Then to come back for lunch and have different experiences in the afternoon, including bush walks, games drives, wildlife conservation and grassland management lectures. And come back of an evening and surround the campfire, to have nothing to do but watch the fire and talk to all the other people that are on the trip, to be social and share the day’s experiences. The social concept and life skills of this experience were outstanding. Improvement in mental health is also one to be considered here, in that you get to be very, very busy, but in a way that enables you to slow down, and this cannot be underestimated.
So what can you expect on this trip as a T-Level Animal student? Here are just a few of the many highlights!
- Lectures on wildlife conservation and habitat management within and outside of reserves
- Bush Walks and Game Drives to view the reserve wildlife and the habitats within the reserve
- An intensive CyberTracking qualification with the assessment to become either a Level 1,2, or 3 or professional wildlife tracker!
- Additional unitised training opportunities such as setting and reviewing camera traps, flying anti-poaching drones and seeing a live demonstration of dog training from the anti-poaching team
- Visiting SOWETO for a cycle tour of the area’s history with Apartheid, and a visit to Nelson Mandela’s house and the Apartheid museum
My own personal unforgettable moment was getting woken up by hippos arguing in the middle of night, right outside my tent!
Other personal highlights would include catching 11 nocturnal species on our camera traps, including rhino, brown hyena, genet and civet amongst many others, and gaining my Level 2 Cyber Tracking Qualification on the first attempt! It was a truly incredible experience and I am delighted to be able to offer our T level students the opportunity to go on this next year!
