A STUDENT travelled 4,000 miles for work experience at a Pendle farm.

Shatha Al-Huneidi, 17, from Kuwait, spent time at Roaming Roosters in Higham.

Shatha, a student at the Kuwait English School in the suburb of Salwa, 3,800 miles from East Lancashire, has aspirations of becoming a vet, and has started to apply for UK Veterinary Science courses through UCAS.

Yet with strong competition for university places, Shatha knew that she would also need to demonstrate good work experience on her CV.

Her PE teacher, Pendle-born Emma Welch, told her about Roaming Roosters and their sustainable farming, and Shatha got in touch.

She said: “University expectations include experience in veterinary practices, animal shelters, husbandry and experience in dealing with a variety of animals in rural settings.

“Before travelling to the UK I had experience in a veterinary practice in Kuwait, a rural practice in Australia and volunteering experience at a local animal shelter here.

“Looking at the Roaming Roosters website, I was really interested in its sustainable farming programme, in particular the care and handling of their animals and the veterinary practices they employ, and luckily they agreed to let me help out.”

During her time with farmer Geoff Mellin, she helped feed the chickens and cleaned out the chicken shed, as well as tending to the pigs, which was a real bonus for her.

Shatha said: “Meat from pigs is not eaten in Kuwait, and the only place you really see them is in the zoo, so it was good to see them in this setting.

“My time with Roosters was very valuable and I learned a lot from them. If I get into a university over here, I will certainly come back to visit them again.”