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A turf cutting ceremony has marked th beginning of construction work on Wakefield College’s new state-of-the-art learning facility at Glasshoughton - The Skills Xchange

Yvette Cooper MP for Pontefract and Castleford, was joined by Wakefield College Principal, Heather MacDonald, and Stuart Mcloughlin, Managing Director of developers Waystone, as she cut the first turf on the site.

Fifty Year 9 school children from local high schools - Featherstone High, Kings High, Knottingley High, Carleton High and Castleford High - held sections of an image, creating a 25 metre wide representation of the new build, as a background.

Ms MacDonald said,

“The Skills Xchange will help us fulfill our ambitions to provide cutting edge training facilities, for both individuals and businesses, to meet the skills challenges of the 21st century. It will be a facility of which our District can be proud. It will serve learners right across the District and beyond, and be an integral part of the regeneration of the Wakefield District, in which the College has a key role to play.”

College Vice Principal and Project Champion, Sue Griffiths said,

“This is a significant milestone, for not just the staff and students at Wakefield College, but also the people of the Wakefield District. The College has worked closely with partners on the development of this new Campus, which will develop skills for employability and extend education and training to all who can benefit.”

Stuart Mcloughlin, Managing Director of regeneration specialists and acclaimed developers Waystone, said,

“It is particularly rewarding to know that young children who toured the Glasshoughton re-generation site some 8 or 9 years ago may now have the opportunity to go to College on the same site. It is another landmark development associated with the site and moves the whole project a step further towards its conclusion.”

Property advisor GVA Grimley has worked with the College throughout the project, advising on the development agreement, overseeing the planning application and supporting the College with the sale of its Whitwood Campus, which will close when the Xchange opens. The company will now project manage and monitor the construction programme.

The 77 week build, which is being part funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), is due for completion in October 2008 and will see students through its doors in January 2009. The Xchange will house the provision which is currently offered at the College’s Whitwood Campus, including Hair and Beauty Therapy, Construction, Motor Vehicle and Engineering.

Yorkshire Post Special Publication ‘Wakefield First’ - 26 June 2007