Issie Duxbury

• Responsible for 2 children before and after nursery
• During the day I help out on the 75 ha dairy farm
• Clean out the milking parlour daily using high-pressure water hose.
• Milk cows twice a day using milking machines
• Assist with the management and care of the 250 cow herd.

I spent a couple of weeks working at the largest livestock market in the South West, the GTH Sedgemooor Auction Centre.

• Preparing for the Livestock market.
• Shadowed the valuation of land and property rentals in and around Taunton and Bridgewater.

During the summer of 2025, I took on a week's work experience at Sworders; I shadowed the chartered surveyors, getting involved in clients' meetings and new projects in and around Somerset.

During the summer of 2023, I worked for one of the largest suppliers of milk to the supermarkets in the South West. Higher Huntham Farm introduced an automatic milking machine, and my role was to train the Holstein Friesian cows to use this new piece of equipment.

• Encouraged the cows to change their milking habits to ensure a more efficient milking practice.
• Monitored the cows' welfare and reported any concerns to the herdsman.
• Created a more sustainable farm, partly achieved by reducing daily energy use as the cows now enter the milking machine on their own accord.

Before choosing my A Levels, I spent two months working alongside the Animal Manager and co-owner of Red Oak Genetics at their award-winning wildlife and safari park. I was involved in many hands-on tasks, including ear-tagging buffalo and red deer calves, weighing red deer, capturing and darting rare antelope and deer species.

• Recorded stock movement for up-to-date inventory documentation by writing down ear tags.
• Updated spreadsheets with key metrics to track information for staff, including the livestock growth progress and genetic history.

During the holidays, I worked at a thriving rural village preschool. Responsible for children from the age of 18 months. Following my interest in the environment, I became a member of the Forest School Team, taking small groups of Rising 5s to explore the Somerset Levels.