News

Successful Funding Bid

Orbital South Colleges, comprising of campuses at East Surrey College, Redhill and John Ruskin College, Croydon, was successful in a recent Funding Bid for their Vision for Growth Project.

The Further Education College has secured £820,000 Local Growth funding through Coast to Capital, a Local Enterprise Partnership building links between local authorities and business in the South East.

The funding will be supporting building projects at East Surrey College, Redhill and John Ruskin College, Croydon. East Surrey College will see a development of the current Gatton Point South Campus, with modern development plans for a new Advanced Technology Centre (ATC). The ATC will include spacious classrooms and lecture rooms, as well as state-of-the-art laboratories to support the College’s higher level construction and engineering courses.

The John Ruskin College site, situated in Selsdon Park Road, Croydon, will expand to include a Construction Skills Training Centre, to accommodate the exciting new Construction and Engineering courses that will open to students from 2020/21.

This funding enables the College Group to expand its support of local businesses, enabling employers to find staff with the right skills for their business, and to be able to access flexible training solutions for their organisations.

With work planned to commence in early 2020, both developments are designed with the environment in mind, to ensure sustainability and energy efficiency. The new builds aim to incorporate Low Carbon Technologies.  

Jayne Dickinson, Chief Executive Orbital South Colleges commented:

“Receiving this award funding provides a wonderful opportunity for East Surrey College and John Ruskin College to extend our work focused on developing local people with the right skills to support local businesses to thrive. The new facilities will deliver opportunities for local residents, both school leavers and adults, to develop their careers and ensure that they are well prepared for the workplace. We look forward to sharing this exciting opportunity with local Construction, Engineering and Technology employers across the East Surrey and Croydon regions.”

Jonathan Sharrock, Chief Executive of Coast to Capital added:

“The Coast to Capital Board was delighted to award funding to Orbital South Colleges which will enhance the skills offer in East Surrey and Croydon. We are committed to providing students with advanced skills in Construction, Engineering and Technology to succeed in the future workplace. I look forward to seeing future developments with the projects which will help to establish the Coast to Capital area as a fantastic place to live, grow and succeed.”

East Surrey College and John Ruskin College both offer a wide range of Full-time, Part-time and Apprenticeship courses, with East Surrey College also providing an ever-expanding Higher Education offer.