Summer campus enhancement programme complete
Did you know that York College & University Centre’s current campus at Sim Balk Lane is almost 20 years old? A lot has changed since the building was opened in 2007, and we’re constantly investing in our facilities to make sure that they are fit for modern-day learning. Over the summer months, while our students were enjoying a well-earned summer break, we carried out a range of exciting refurbishment projects as part of a wider programme of campus enhancements. These projects were funded via a mixture of self and grant funding, using the DfE Further Education College Condition Allocation that is intended to be used to maintain, improve and ensure suitability of our premises.
Two key projects were the transformation of our main lecture theatre and the creation of a new beauty training facility. The first project saw the first-floor lecture theatre, which hadn’t been refurbished since our main campus opened in 2007, transformed into a space capable of supporting modern teaching, presentations, seminars and College events. The five-week refurbishment included removing and reupholstering 90 seats, installing a new lighting system throughout and fitting new acoustic wall panelling. The lecture theatre has also been given new flooring, a sleek black ceiling, a brand-new lectern and a range of contemporary specialist furniture, creating a flexible and engaging environment for students, staff and visitors alike.
Our Principal & Chief Executive Ken Merry commented: “Modern lecture theatres are integral to the success of both our students and York College as a whole. This work has given us a best-in-class facility and there’s no doubt it’s going to be a valuable asset for the hundreds of people who will use it every week.”
The second project involved refurbishing and converting an office space into a dedicated beauty facility, providing a professional training environment for our students and staff. The work included replacing all floor coverings and ceilings, installing new partition walls and kitchen units and fully redecorating the area. A full range of specialist beauty equipment and associated furnishings was also fitted.
Ken Merry said: “Our hair, beauty, make-up and wellbeing courses are hugely popular, and this development now gives us one of the best teaching facilities in the region, so it will make a massive difference to our students and staff.”
Other key refurbishment works include a new vibrant Student Union area on the second floor, complete with table football and a pool table, and the creation of a new larger café area on the first floor proudly serving Costa Coffee, which makes additional use of the outside podium area. We’ve also built a new Innovation Cube in our second-floor Learning and Research Centre, which has totally transformed the area with a glass cube for teaching, quiet zone for study and a relaxing study area for students, as well as installing a new large LCD screen in the atrium to keep students up-to-date on what’s going on across College. Meeting pods have also been added on all floors, to create private and confidential areas when delicate support is required. We’ve also installed new flooring in our Alan Ayckbourn Theatre, replaced two large extraction units in stonemasonry, and have started to refurbish all toilet blocks across the building.
Our internal teams have also worked incredibly hard to refresh and enhance many areas across the College as part of a summer internal décor project. This includes new wayfinding for the entire building to help our students - and staff - to find their way around College more easily, new sports corridor wall art including a Hall of Fame, 170 new photo acrylics installed across the campus, a 200-year feature photo wall in our Café 1827, the installation of College values across the building, and door and wall wraps for our new record label, 54 Records, to mention a few. All common areas across the College building have also been painted and decorated to create a clean and refreshed feel.
From major renovation works to refreshed learning spaces and communal areas to décor improvements and new communication points, the investment made in our summer refurbishment project is helping to create an even more welcoming, attractive and engaging environment for our students, apprentices, visitors and staff. And as we look ahead to our 200-year anniversary next year, more innovative facilities are planned for the next few years as we future-proof our College campus for future generations of students.
To take a look around our revamped facilities for yourself, why not book onto one of our upcoming Open Events?
