A STUDENT is working in the fields of his dreams thanks to work experience at a North Dorset farm.

Felix, who has autism, was offered a work placement at Meggy Moos, at Park Farm, Shroton, by Dorset Council’s supported employment provider, Pluss.

The 19-year-old has always wanted to go into agriculture but at college he was finding the maths entry level quite difficult to complete.

Sam Mosdell, who works for Pluss, decided to look for alternative routes into his chosen sector, which was working on a dairy farm.

And he managed to source some work experience for Felix at Meggy Moo’s, where the Perrett family have been milking 180 Holstein cattle to produce their own milk, butter, cream and milkshakes for more than 30 years.

Felix said his confidence has grown substantially over the last few months.
“When I first came here, I didn’t know what to expect and was pretty nervous, but now, from what I’ve learnt, I feel so much better, a lot more confident in myself and a lot happier,” he said.

“My experience has been absolutely amazing, and I’ve thoroughly loved it. Being around the environment that I’ve wanted to be around for the majority of my life – I’m so thankful for it.”

For the first month, Felix had the support of Sam working alongside him to help him learn the ropes, but now he’s confident in labelling the bottles, filling up milk cartons and putting them in the cold room.

Meggy Moos owner, Rachel Perrett, said they had enjoyed having Felix on the farm.

“As an employer our experience of employing Felix has been really positive. It’s something we’ve really enjoyed and I think we wouldn’t be without him now.

“Having Sam around as employment mentor for first three to four weeks was very helpful as Sam was very hands on.

“To anyone else thinking of taking on a work experience student, I would thoroughly recommend it. It’s very rewarding. I think not just for the student but the team as well. It’s been an experience that has been really enjoyable.”