Posted: 12/02/09
College to welcome Royal visitor
Preparations are under way for a special visit by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to West Nottinghamshire College.
His Royal Highness will spend time viewing the state-of-the-art facilities at the College’s Construction and Logistics Skills Academy on Friday 20 February, where he will meet students and staff before unveiling a commemorative plaque to mark his visit.
The £7.2 million academy, based at Station Park in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, provides vocational training to over 600 students on a range of subject areas including bricklaying, plumbing, carpentry, gas fitting, painting and decorating, construction management, driving passenger vehicles, forklift truck driving and railway engineering.
Known as one of the sector’s best construction training facilities, the building boasts extensive workshop space, the latest industry-standard machinery and equipment, specialist learning resources, a student café and chill-out space.
It is also home to the College’s new Higher Education Centre, which provides a range of specialist facilities to its higher education students.
Asha Khemka OBE, Principal and Chief Executive of West Nottinghamshire College, said: “It will be an honour and a privilege to welcome His Royal Highness to the College. His visit will be a momentous and historic occasion that everyone here will remember for a long time.
“I’m sure His Royal Highness is looking forward to seeing first-hand the excellent facilities on offer at our flagship Construction and Logistics Skills Academy, which equips students with the first-class practical skills to succeed in their chosen careers and face the future with confidence.”
West Nottinghamshire College is one of the largest colleges in the region; providing education and training to more than 25,000 full and part-time students.
In 2008 the College was awarded Grade 1 (Outstanding) across all categories by Ofsted inspectors, which placed it amongst the top-performing colleges in the country.
Earlier this year it became the first college in Nottinghamshire to gain Learning and Skills Beacon status, which recognises excellence and innovation within the Further Education and skills sector.
The College was also awarded ‘star status’ as part of the prestigious Best Companies accreditation scheme, which recognises it as a first class employer and earns it a listing in the highly-respected Best Companies Guide.
