East Durham College’s Houghall Campus recently hosted the local heats of The Institute of Horticulture’s Young Horticulturist of the Year (YHOY) competition.

This first round of the prestigious national competition saw Houghall students, past and present, compete in a multiple choice quiz to see who would advance to the Northern England regional finals.

Former Houghall student Christopher Parsons, 23, from Heighington, won the competition heat with a total of 33 point; followed by EDC students Danielle Newbery, 18, from Darlington in second place and Craig Kitching, 17, from Shotton Colliery took third.

Christopher, who is already a two time grand finalist, and now works as a freelance landscaper, will now travel to Stockbridge Technology Centre in Selby, North Yorkshire on March 22 to take on other local heat winners; where they will face a host of horticulture-related questions both in a buzzer format and asked one-to-one Mastermind style.