The names of the 39 colleges and sixth forms who will share £83 million to build facilities to accommodate a demographic spike in 16 to 19-year-olds have been announced.
New classrooms, science labs and other types of teaching spaces will be invested in by providers receiving a slice of the post-16 capacity fund, which was promised in chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 2020 spending review and opened for bids in May.
The Sixth Form Colleges Association estimates there will be 260,000 additional 16- to 19-year-olds that will participate in education in the coming years.
The Department for Education said the fund will also support the government’s drive to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with all successful colleges and sixth forms required to show how their projects will contribute to the target.
Skills minister Alex Burghart said: “Every young person should have the opportunity to gain the skills they need to reach their goals and go on to have successful careers.
“This investment will boost capacity so we can make sure there is a place for every 16 to 19-year-old, giving them access to the high-quality learning facilities they need to succeed.”
Successful bids include East Kent College Group’s Ashford campus, which will use the funding to build a new extension, create an “engineering hub” and additional space for business and IT provision, growing capacity for around 250 new students.
Wyke Sixth Form College in Hull will grow its capacity by 350 people as they build a new two-storey extension which will provide seven additional classrooms.
SFCA deputy chief executive James Kewin said: “The post-16 capacity fund provides invaluable investment to institutions as they prepare for the demographic increase in 16 to 19-year-olds, and the projects announced today will benefit young people right across England.”
As previously reported by FE Week, only sixth form colleges, 16 to 19 academies, 16 to 19 free schools such as university technical colleges, and general FE colleges were in scope for the fund. Independent training providers were controversially excluded.
The 39 providers who successfully bid for the capacity funding are:
Aston University Engineering Academy
Barton Peveril Sixth Form College
Bedford College
Bilborough Sixth Form College (Better Futures MAT)
Brockenhurst College
Christ the King Sixth Form
Cirencester College
City of Stoke on Trent Sixth Form College (Potteries Educational Trust)
City of Wolverhampton College
Dixons Sixth Form Academy (Dixons Academies Trust)
Durham Sixth Form Centre
East Kent College Group
Hereford Sixth Form College (Heart of Mercia Academy Trust)
Hills Road Sixth Form College
Huddersfield New College
Inspire Education Group
Itchen Sixth Form College
John Leggott College
Joseph Chamberlain 6th Form College
Kirklees College
Long Road Sixth Form College
Luminate Education Group
Luton Sixth Form College
Milton Keynes College
New College Pontefract (New Collaborative Learning Trust)
Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College
Peter Symonds College
Portsmouth College
Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College
Ron Dearing University Technical College
Runshaw College
Sandwell College
St Francis Xavier Sixth Form College
St Vincent College (Lighthouse Learning Trust)
Suffolk New College
TEC Partnership
The Henley College
Woking College
Wyke Sixth Form College
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