Midlands & East Anglia

Tresham College celebrates new £32m campus

corby-campus-treshamA brand new £32m campus for Tresham College in Corby, Northamptonshire has been successfully completed. The college became one of only thirteen in England to be granted project funding approval from the Skills funding Association and was officially opened in September of this year.

Mark Beecroft, Estates Manager for the College, said: “Works progressed well and everyone worked well together. I am extremely pleased to say that it was completed both on time and to budget.”

Main contractors for the project were BAM Construction and the architects were Bond Bryan.

The college is centred on vocational education and core subjects include: motor vehicle, engineering, construction, IT and Hair and Beauty. The modern, flexible style of the new build on the 16-acre site accommodates advancements in technology within education, with 4 learning pods designed to give open access to materials provided to support the varying curriculum topics.corby-campus-tresham-

The campus was innovatively designed to complement Tresham’s long history of providing high quality skills-based courses and therefore the approach to its structure was primarily geared towards practicality and facilitation. The structure is both functional and attractive: along with a front feature glazed block of coloured panels and a profiled surround with infill brick panels to ground level, the steel frame campus has a stone clad spine wall, which separates the front atrium space from the rear metal clad workshop and teaching areas.corby-campus-tresham

An interesting feature of the building is that, because it is built into a bank, it effectively has two ground floors. The learners enter on the ground level where the reception, student/staff restaurant and Hair and Beauty facilities are.  However the workshops are located on the first floor from the entrance, but also on the ground floor via the service Yard, which is a valuable resource for the learners resembling a true construction environment. Above this is the second floor providing further teaching and admin rooms .

Built to BREEAM ‘Excellent’, the building also houses several sustainable features – these include 168 photovoltaic (PV) cells, a biomass boiling system and rainwater harvesting.corby-campus-tresham

Exterior landscaping has comprised the leveling of various banks and the planting of 200 trees.

Director of Technology & Resources, Elspeth Sully said “ The new Tresham Campus at Corby was not only built and delivered on time and to budget but also provides an excellent teaching and learning resource for both staff and learners.  The new resources will enable learners to meet the needs of employers by giving them realistic working environment and a set of skills to be valued within the employment market.

Acting Principal at Tresham, Paul Fletton said: “ The opening of this facility marks a very important stage for Tresham College and I am immensely proud to be part of it.”corby-campus-tresham

The eventuality of the development is a success of dimension. The nature of the structure is unlike anything of its kind in the region, but it is its primal function which will really benefit the people of Corby. Project manager at BAM Construction, Andy Knott said: “I was glad to be involved in the production of what I’m sure will be a cherished and fantastic addition to the Tresham landscape. The project was an exciting challenge and went stupendously well and the campus forms an essential part of core development plans for Corby in the future.”

Increased access to modern education facilities is vital to the growth and prosperity of the North Northamptonshire region and the new Tresham Campus is right at the forefront of providing this.

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