Yeovil College’s £3m state-of-the-art Health, Education and Science Centre has been formally opened by local MP Marcus Fysh.

He was joined by Mayor of Yeovil Cllr Evie Potts-Jones at the centre, which provides T Level, A Level, and Further and Higher education students with facilities including a hospital ward, birthing and nursing stations and a community care setting. There are also therapy rooms, early years and primary settings as well as multiple science laboratories and flexible learning environments.

Yeovil College said the real-life, working environments will enable students to gain practical and high-quality experiences in spaces that reflect the settings in which they will begin their careers. “They will receive a real understanding of what skills and behaviours they need to be successful in their future career,” said CEO and Principal Mark Bolton.
He described the opening of the centre at Yeovil, which is one of only 16 colleges in the UK to receive a share of the government’s £1.5bn FE capital transformation fund, as a ‘significant milestone’ in the college’s journey to becoming a campus of the future.

“This is the first of many grand openings as we deliver the extent of our full ambition for our community and students,” he said. “The building has received an investment of around £3m, making it one of the largest and most prestigious Health, Education and Science centres in the UK.”

Marcus Fysh said: “It is a tremendous facility, which is second to none, and this is exactly the sort of aspiration we should have for our town and for the whole of the South West. It is incredible to see Yeovil College leading the way, both academically and aspirationally.”

by Faith Eckersall