Warwickshire College group lands £1.2 million funding to transform classrooms and workshops

Classrooms and workshops at a leading Midlands college group will be transformed to deliver new technical qualifications after receiving £1.2 Million of Government funding.

WCG (formerly Warwickshire College Group) has been granted the funding from the £50 million T Level Capital Fund.

T Levels are new national qualifications that form part of the Government’s flagship reforms to technical education in England.

The courses combine classroom theory and practical learning with industry placements of at least nine weeks to give students real experience of the workplace.

WCG is among the first college groups to introduce the technical qualifications with its Digital Support Services T Level being delivered from September 2021.

The college group will be delivering T Levels in Engineering, Health & Science and Construction from September 2022.

The Government funding will see existing buildings, workshops and classroom space refurbished at WCG’s Rugby College, Pershore College and Royal Leamington Spa College sites for its Engineering, Health & Science and Construction T Levels delivery.

This is in addition to funding already received to support the delivery of the Digital Support Services T Level at Royal Leamington Spa College.

It will ensure that students have access to modern, fit for purpose learning spaces to support their progression into skilled employment.

Rugby College will see a large open-space on the second floor transformed into a specialist engineering teaching space, with specialist engineering facilities to be installed for those studying the Engineering T Level.

Pershore College will convert a large open space into a series of classrooms and laboratories to facilitate the delivery of the Health & Science T Level. This will include the addition of hospital beds and other equipment to provide students with the best learning environment.

Royal Leamington Spa College’s former ceramics building will undergo a major refurbishment with new workshops and classrooms for its Construction T Level, with additions including a construction material testing laboratory.

Peter Husband, Chief Operating Officer and Group Principal at WCG, said: “This successful bid for capital funds to support our T Level provision in 2022 and beyond will ensure we provide a suitable and modern environment in which learning can take place.

“This funding is in addition to funding we have already received to invest in industry specialist equipment to support the delivery of our four T Level routes.

“We will be investing the funding across our Pershore, Royal Leamington Spa and Rugby sites.

“The work carried out at all three sites will allow us to cater for growth in student numbers while ensuring existing students have access to the best possible equipment and learning environment.

“T Levels are designed to generate a skilled workforce to support the future economy and we are working closely with businesses across the Midlands to generate high-quality industry placements as part of the course.”