A greenkeeping student has won a national award for his hard work.

Matthew Plested, 36, studied the level 4 NVQ amenity horticulture management course at Oaklands College in St Albans, and was awarded a City and Guilds’ Medal for his excellence. The award has been running for more than 100 years and recognises exceptional work produced by students.

Matthew, who is also the course manager at Stoneham Golf Club in Southampton, said: “I feel very honoured to win the medal.

“I spent many evenings in front of the computer to achieve my qualification.

“I felt I needed to move on in my career but what I didn’t expect was how much of what I learnt would add to my daily business.”

He is the fifth greenkeeping student to win the award at the college and is now in the running for the City and Guilds’ Lion Award, which acknowledges the best of the best across the UK in a range of categories. The winner will be announced at a celebration evening in July.

Andy Wight, the head of Landbased Workbased Learning at Oaklands College, said: “We are delighted to see Matt recognised in this way.

“He was a fantastic student and all his hard work has paid off because he is now doing a job he loves and putting everything he learnt at college to practice.”