A new £9.6m sixth form opened its doors for the first time in Corby this morning.
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00:00 So this is a project that's been about three years in the making, where after various amounts
00:06 of research we were doing, it became really apparent that an alternative academic offer
00:12 for Corby would be a superb thing. It's needed for young people, it's needed for the community
00:17 and this space as a regeneration project became available and through some government funding,
00:25 we've been able to work really closely with North North Anse Council to regenerate and
00:30 breathe new life into this building and create this magnificent facility. Because we're really
00:36 committed to the environment, sustainability has been at the core of its design, along
00:40 with making sure that we have spaces which are accessible and bright and brilliant for
00:45 students learning. So the building itself is now carbon neutral, we've invested really
00:51 heavily in sustainable technologies as part of the £9.6 million investment and what we've
00:57 done is create some beautiful learning spaces for students to enjoy. And then over the next
01:03 few years, the sixth form will grow and thrive and become a bustling community and it will
01:08 all be shaped by the students. So the student union, the members of staff, everybody else
01:14 who will be involved in the community at the Corby sixth form will be able to determine
01:19 how we shape it and how we take it forward. Obviously the Corby sixth form itself is part
01:25 of the Bedford College group as is Tresham College and various other colleges within
01:32 there. What we have been really experienced at doing in Bedford is building the Bedford
01:38 sixth form and that's a sixth form very similar to this that offers a huge variety of A level
01:43 subjects, far more than you would find in most sixth forms and in most schools. So what
01:49 that does is it allows people to really think through and have variety in their A level
01:54 choices and it provides somewhere different to school to support the transition from studying
02:00 at A level at level three into going into university. Where it differs from our Tresham
02:06 College campuses is it is focused on academic study. At Tresham itself we offer all sorts
02:13 of different things from construction to motor vehicles to engineering to hospitality and
02:19 visitor economy. What is offered at the Corby sixth form is an academic education and it
02:26 is right and proper that those things sit side by side with each other so that people
02:29 have a vast array of choice to support their progression. Well it is day one, the students
02:36 that have turned up have been really pleased so far. We have been really clear with them
02:40 that they have got this fantastic facility that they can help to shape and make their
02:44 own and we are really looking forward to working with them in the future. Recruitment has been
02:50 relatively buoyant and I think young people and their families are excited about the prospects
02:55 and the proposition of this sixth form in Corby.