Last updated 16:13, Thursday, 02 October 2008

WORK to build a £24m new sixth form campus in Barrow could start in January.

NEW BUILD: Barrow Sixth Form College Principal David Kelly in front of an artist’s impression of how the site will look in two years time

By Natalie Chapples

Barrow Sixth Form College’s state-of-the-art new building and multi-use sport pitches are due to be ready in two years.

The current college at Rating Lane was opened 29 years ago, and it was the UK’s only purpose-build sixth form until the early 1990s.

It was built for 480 students. Today the college has more than 900 16 to 18 years old students from across South Cumbria.

The college is also one of the bases for teaching the new Diploma qualification to pre-16 and post-16 students.

Cumbria’s largest A Level provider wants to transform its site, and the plan is for it to be fully operational by September 2010.

The new building, including a sports hall, will stand on the current sports courts. New floodlit all-weather pitches will be created on the footprint of the old building. The college says the new build will provide much-needed larger classrooms, modern laboratories and improved facilities for expressive and performing arts, plus a clinical skills suite for health-related courses.

A key feature will be the learning resource centre. This will lead off the entrance atrium, providing improved private study facilities.

It will include a library and ICT and career and guidance areas.

There will be many ‘green’ features, including a ground-source heat pump and water recycling.

The Learning and Skills Council is providing the most funding. The college is putting in £250,000 from its own reserves and borrowing about £2.5m.

Principal David Kelly said: “It’s a very exciting project. It’s really the first substantial investment that we have had for sixth form education since the college was built.

“It’s going to bring state-of-the-art educational facilities to the young people of Barrow and south Cumbria.”

Mr Kelly said present classrooms were too small and too few.

Jan Fielding, vice principal, said: “We have fantastic students and teachers now we need a fantastic building.”

The college has received planning permission from Barrow Borough Council. The planning report said the development would have no detrimental impact on neighbouring residents.

But several residents did object, raising worries about increased traffic problems, noise and privacy.

Mr Kelly said the plans would provide improvements to the traffic and parking situation. There would be a one-way car parking system and extra spaces.

Mr Kelly said he hoped the new college would overcome the problems of the existing buildings and have a positive impact on regeneration in Barrow.

Work to set up a temporary cark park and enabling works could start in November.