Barclays has provided a £1.5m finance facility to help Norton Radstock College achieve its £3m campus upgrade.
The package has helped fund the construction of a 26,167 sq ft two-storey building at the further education college in Radstock, replacing the 1950s North Side Building.
More than 1,000 full and 5,000 part-time students undertaking a range of further and higher education qualifications will benefit from the move.
College vice principal Peter Hodgson said: “We are seeing a growing number of young people in the area interested in taking courses at the college, so we want to ensure we are able to provide current and future students with the best facilities possible.
“We are delighted to have secured funding from Barclays, who has been hugely supportive of the college’s developments and have worked closely with us to ensure the new building has met all our needs.”
Norton Radstock College was established in 1947 to serve the local community in what was then the North East Somerset coalfield.
The new state-of-the-art building supports a range of teaching facilities including engineering workshops and a special ‘green room’ to enable the college to develop its Green Skills Academy, a series of courses providing training in renewable technologies and energy efficiency in buildings.
Barclays relationship director for Bath, John Squier, added: “Barclays has a leading presence in the education sector supporting organisations up and down the country.
“The funding we have provided Norton Radstock College is just one example of how we work with our clients to structure financial solutions to support their long-term plans. We are committed to working alongside our clients to help them prosper, and nowhere does this have such a positive social impact than in the education sector as they teach the next generation and help instil in them self-confidence and ambition.”
The new building was officially opened by David Medlock, Vice Lord Lieutenant of Somerset and Pro Chancellor of the University of Bath.
Pictured at the official launch are, from left, John Squier, Barclays relationship director; college principal Shirley Arayan; David Medlock, Vice Lord Lieutenant of Somerset; and college vice principal Peter Hodgson
