College invests £115 million into campus to enhance academic provision for students
Wed, 24 May 2023
A Greater Manchester college is enhancing provision for students following a major investment into its estate.
Tameside College has invested £115 million in its estate since 2015, which includes the creation of new centres to help students access industry-standard facilities and cutting edge equipment.
The investment marks a further move and commitment from the college - and sister site Clarendon Sixth Form College - to continually enrich its offering and ensure students receive a comprehensive educational experience, supplemented with industry knowledge and key links with employers, in addition to careers support to help students make the right decisions for their future.
Jackie Moores, principal at Tameside College and Clarendon Sixth Form College said: “What Tameside College offers students - whether they be school leavers, adults or apprentices - is great teaching and great support in fantastic industry-standard facilities.
“We have outstanding links with employers - whether that be with the local authority, Tameside Hospital, Greater Manchester Police, and a whole plethora of other employers - that enable us to make sure that our curriculum is co-designed so that it meets the needs of employers, but also so that we’re able to offer highly effective work experience placements for all of our students.”
And now, with the creation of dedicated, purpose-built subject spaces, Tameside College is bringing even more of that industry experience in-house for students.
Jackie added: “All of these new areas are significant growth areas in Greater Manchester for jobs, and there are real jobs with good career paths.”
What’s new at Tameside?
Health care centre
Tameside’s new health care centre boasts modern facilities and cutting-edge equipment to allow students to learn and practice in an industry-standard environment.
The centre simulates a hospital setting, and is equipped with a range of tools to enable students to learn and practice in a safe, purpose-built space.
The new equipment includes hospital beds and various medical apparatus, including an interactive anamotage table worth over £200,000, which health care students can utlise to learn about anatomy and physiology in an informative and engaging way.
Animal management centre
As well as health care, Tameside College is also upgrading its provision for animal care courses.
Set to open in August 2023, the brand new animal management facility will allow the college to significantly expand its remit and offering for animal studies.
The purpose-built facility will not only feature dedicated new spaces, such as a meerkat enclosure, but will also feature a wider variety of species to examine and learn about - including reptiles, fish, birds and more exciting animals - from September, in time for the college’s new cohort of students.
Automotive centre
Tameside College is also in the midst of building a new automotive centre, which is on course to open in 2024.
Speaking about the automotive centre, Jackie said: “It’s an industry that is booming in terms of jobs and also in terms of change. So the move to hybrid technologies and the electrification of vehicles means that we need to be able to respond to the demands of that sector.
“We’re working very closely with key employers - including Greater Manchester Police - to enable us to provide skilled technicians who can be the workforce of the future. We will also offer mechanical automotive engineering, as well as body repair and paint repair.”
T-Levels
The college is also branching out and expanding the qualifications offered, with an addition of a new T Level.
Broadly equivalent to three A Levels, T Levels are two-year courses developed in collaboration with employers and educational providers to help students learn the skills required to succeed in a real, working environment.
T Levels feature a blend of classroom learning and work experience with a valuable 45-day industry placement embedded into the course.
Already delivering T Levels in health, Tameside College is also planning to deliver engineering, professional construction, education and childcare, digital production and development T Levels from September 2023.
Jackie said: “We are very much trying to improve the life chances of people in Tameside, and that is about making sure that they have the qualifications to access those higher paid jobs and careers right across the conurbation in Greater Manchester.”
To find out more about Tameside College and Clarendon Sixth Form College, visit the college website.