THE head of the national funding body for adult further education visited Southampton today (Monday 24, January) to see the results of City College Southampton’s £48m new facilities.
Geoff Russell, Chief Executive of the Skills Funding Agency, was given a tour by Principal and CEO Lindsey Noble of the brand new restaurant, kitchens, theatre, hair and beauty salons, media suites and engineering and construction learning centres.
The areas have been fitted out with carefully selected, state-of-the-art equipment to help students in their studies and have become a valuable resource for Southampton and the wider community.
The opening of The Watts Building and ‘the hub’ in September marked the culmination of the £48m redevelopment programme planned over three phases that started eight years ago.
As well as meeting Lindsey Noble, Mr Russell took time to meet with City College’s hair and beauty students and advanced apprentices in construction and engineering to find out how the new facilities were benefitting them.
He then visited media students, who interviewed and filmed him in the college’s brand-new TV studio for one of their projects.
He said: “It’s been great to see the first class facilities you have here at the college and to see how Government money is boosting opportunities for learners, employers and the local community.
"It was especially interesting for me to be personally involved in the media students’ project – and judging from the questions I’m sure many of them are the top journalists of the future.”
Principal and CEO of City College, Lindsey Noble, said: “It was a pleasure to show Geoff how the money invested has been put to such good use. The buildings and equipment, which reflect the modern day workplace, are already having a positive impact on the students’ learning.
"We believe our further education success rates last year now put us in the top 10 per cent of colleges in the country for learner success. The new facilities are also helping us work effectively with local schools, colleges and training providers to raise aspirations and enrich the lives of local people.”
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