actor

event manager

park operations manager

operations manager

office manager

Bocketts-Farm

I write this review after being at Bocketts Farm for nearly 6 years and i'm stunned to read the reviews that have come before me. 
My job at Bocketts was incredibly fulfilling and exciting, and from my first shift I have worked through most days with a smile on my face. Throughout my years, Bocketts was able to distill a plethora of work skills that will be taken throughout my career, and i believe my experience has put me in a great position to be able to tackle future problems within other work environments. Most importantly, Bocketts Farm taught me, a young employee who began at the age of 16, brilliant inter-personal skills from confidence and public speaking to team-work, responsibility and leadership. So, i'll make it very clear, Bocketts Farm is a great place to work. 

From the first day, i was welcomed as a vital part of the team and it was the friendly management and rest of the team that allowed me to jump into the job right from the start. That same team spirit that I saw on the first day remains at Bocketts Farm despite so many colleagues joining and leaving. A great compliment to the recruitment and management of the team. 

As with any job, it's not all rainbows. There are times of hard-work and great challenges but the sense of gratitude from other staff is rarely lost and the difficulties of a public assisting role make the importance of a strong team spirit that bit more. It's this that makes the farm's values of team-spirit spot on. I believe anyone would be lucky to join the team. Of course the work can be difficult at times and the 10.5 hour days can be strenous, but that just makes a successful day completed that bit more rewarding. 

There is much more I would love to highlight about my positive time at Bocketts, but that would turn into a very long review. So, instead i'd like to briefly address a reoccurring theme within the reviews below. Management. Maybe i've been lucky or perhaps i'm just grateful for the opportunities that appeared to me throughout my years at Bocketts, but I progress my career highly doubtful i'll work under a management team as dedicated, passionate, and approachable as that at Bocketts. Throughout my six years all the managers I have worked with have been accomodative when i've requested help or guidance, or when i've been worried about future shifts. There were no doubt times when management was stressed and this was clearly visible but with the needs of thousands of public and a big team of around 25 it's not difficult to see why and throughout they continued to be supportive and passionate. I've never found the management rude as mentioned in previous reviews and would argue quite the opposite. 

Ultimately a great place to work as a young adult where you can learn new skills and face new challenges all whilst being supported and in a great team. I always enjoyed working at Bocketts Farm and that itself pays tribute to the job as a Farm Park Assistant. Thank you Bocketts Farm.


I worked at Bocketts for a few months as a full time employee and I loved it there. My main reasons for leaving are due to the long hours and financial difficulty I was facing. But there were other contributing factors that helped me to decide to leave. 

A day at Bocketts is 8am-6pm which is a long day, often you have to stay beyond 6pm and might not get out until 6.30pm or later (this fails to be mentioned in your interview). Your day can be very varied or not varied at all depending on what kind of training you have. If you’re a tractor driver you can expect to spend the majority of your time doing tractor rides, especially on the weekends and in the school holidays. I found this to be mentally draining as it would be around 3-4 hours per day doing the same loop saying the same speech over and over again. There weren’t many team that could drive tractors, and management would always take off the more senior team members to do other things and leave the rest of us to hold it together despite the fact that you’re stuck on there for 3 hours+ and in my case felt like I was losing the plot. 

I found the job to be stressful, time is so limited to get your morning and evening jobs done with the animals especially. I always felt rushed to get tasks done and like I couldn’t fulfil jobs because you’re needed for the next thing. I feel due to timings being so restrictive animal care was not always as good as it should be. Mostly in terms of cleanliness, pens and shelters would be left needing to be mucked out for a week or so after being reported as needing attention. 

You do get great opportunities like learning how to drive a quad bike and tractor. You also have training on leading school tours and birthday parties. You get taught on big and small animal care, including equine training too. Progression is non existent unless you’ve worked there for many years.

I found the management team to be welcoming and very approachable and helpful (I’m surprised by previous reviews). The Bocketts team are a tight-nit family and when you join you are made to feel very welcome. They arrange lots of social events for outside of work, the team will become your work family. 

Bocketts is a great place, but if you want to work with animals just know there’s a lot that comes with it that is not animal related that you have to do as part of your job role. This could be standing in playbarn, tills, clean team, tractors etc. In my opinion entertainment for children is bigger there than animals now.  But coming from an animal lover they have such lovely animals and it was always a pleasure to care and look after them. 

I started at Bocketts and for the first week things was ok. I then had certain team members asking what I thought of the job and how they’d been 5 other people in my role within 4/5 years. A huge turnover of staff. I let it go in one and out the other to start but quickly realised why this huge turnover of staff had happened. 

Management especially in my department extremely rude, expect miracles and despite only being contracted till 6 would want you to stay on well past it. Now I’m not a lazy person so if that had happened every now and then, then fine. But it happens 4/5 days a week, this is failed to mentioned in your interview. 

You can’t progress here it’s a close family who run it which is fine but zero progression. Pay is terrible especially for the hours you work. I quickly realised I wouldn’t earn enough to live here. 

I would say that it’s a good job for a young person but not in the department I worked. I see how some of the younger staff was treated and quite frankly it’s appalling. I had to bite my tongue more than once over this and it made me feel extremely uncomfortable. 

I’d like to say finally that the management need to take a look in the mirror and sort there affairs out and it might become a better place to work. I hope this helps some people out. Just my experience but I would never work here again.

What is the best part of working at the company?
A fantastic family run company dedicated to creating the most magical Christmas experience! You are looked after and cared for extremely well.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The weather but this cannot be helped. If you go in knowing that you will be out in the elements come rain, shine or snow, then you will be fine. The company will always look after you with hot or cold drinks, a waterproof layer for your costume etc.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very supportive and great fun!

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Happy, upbeat and very fulfilling. There have been many magical moments over the seasons that I have worked there.

A great place to work whilst a school, Bocketts enables staff to build up valuable skills that can be later taken on into the workplace, such as handling of money and face to face contact with customers. The range of courses that are taken during the employment are also useful such as health and safety and customer service. The majority of the staff are of a similar age which really benefits the working environment.

Working at Bocketts was a great first job, providing the flexibility I needed to balance work and school. While there were limited opportunities for advancement, this didn’t affect me personally. The main drawback was the pay, as I remained on minimum wage throughout my time there.

lovely animals and good working environment. 
Was given all the jobs i enjoyed doing daily and was never worked too hard. 
The day were structured nicely and animals had good care taken after them.

My time at bocketts farm taught me new skills and let me experience a busy work place. It allowed me to work independently and as a team, making it a great first job to gain experience.

Fun, varied environment with loads of job tasks that help develop you as a person, such as presenting animal handling talks to 40+ people. Management could be short-tempered and rude.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Actor 3 salaries reported	£17.50 per hour
Event manager 1 salary reported	£36,000 per year
Park operations manager 1 salary reported	£50,000 per year
Operations manager 1 salary reported	£40,000 per year
Office manager 1 salary reported	£26,500 per year

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