Skills boost as Leeds City College opens doors to new £60 million campus
The new Quarry Hill Campus has officially opened to students after receiving £33.4 million in Growth Deal funding.
3 September 2019
Leeds City College started the new academic year in style when it welcomed around 3,000 students to its brand-new £60 million Quarry Hill Campus.
The impressive nine-story complex, which was nearly two years in construction and sits at the heart of the Cultural Quarter, is the new home for the college’s School of Creative Arts and School of Social Science.
The Quarry Hill Campus development received £33.4 million funding from the Leeds City Region Growth Deal – a £1 billion-plus package of Government investment to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region delivered in partnership with West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
The Quarry Hill Campus will play a vital role in addressing regional skills gaps with courses including Visual & Digital Arts, Games Design, Media, Music and Performance Production, Childhood and Education, Health Science and Social Care, and Public Services.
Facilities on site include TV and media suites, photography and dance studios, a costume workshop, newsroom and gallery spaces, science labs, outdoor working spaces, lecture theatres, a complimentary therapy room and 200-seat theatre complete with backstage technical equipment.
Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said: “The new state-of-the-art Quarry Hill campus is the largest investment from a total pot of almost £80 million from our Growth Deal funding which we allocated to improving further and higher educational facilities throughout the Leeds City Region.
“Our £33.4 million investment in Leeds City College will play a key role in developing a talented workforce that will enable our economy to thrive, particularly in digital industries, which are creating thousands of jobs in our region every year and developing our national and international profile as a powerhouse of creativity and innovation.”
Colin Booth, CEO and Principal of Luminate Education Group, said “We were delighted to officially open our Quarry Hill Campus, which is the result of years of hard work by our staff and partners. We’ve traced the formative years of our organisation back to 1819, so this year is of enormous historical importance to us, as our bicentenary. As such, we’re excited to have arranged a packed week of activity on site to mark the college’s accomplishments, past, present and future.
“This new building offers a first-class educational experience and demonstrates our commitment to offering innovative learning environments and creative vocational programmes. Healthcare, social care, childcare, and digital are some of the biggest local employment sectors, so we are proud to be playing our part in the city region and making a positive difference to the lives of our students.”
The purpose-built facility boasts the highest standards of environmental performance and has a BREEAM Excellent rating. It utilises green ‘living’ walls and solar units to harvest energy, as well as eight different types of glass to naturally moderate temperature inside.
Designed by Ellis Williams Architects and built by Wates Construction North East & Yorkshire, Quarry Hill Campus is one of the first projects delivered as part of a wider £300m redevelopment in the city with investment in creative, cultural, academic, residential and commercial premises.