The £3.5m college plans to boost Bradford’s T Level facilities

A MULTI-million pound scheme to provide services for T-level students in Bradford city center will start this month.

The work will include a new hair and beauty training facility and a ‘training restaurant’ for hospitality students.

Bradford College has partnered with Sewell Construction for the £3.5m investment in facilities which it hopes will improve the offer for students studying T Levels, which were introduced in 2020.

The work at Bradford College, which starts this month, will involve remodeling a number of areas of the College’s David Hockney Building to create a training environment.

The project is the result of a £3.5m investment by the Department for Education. As well as adding new course spaces for business and media students, the project will also create new hairdressing and beauty salon facilities and refurbish the college’s existing training restaurant. Both will be open to the public and used by students to hone their new skills in real-life environments.

The Telegraph & Argus previously reported that the College has applied for planning permission to develop a new shipping container restaurant next to the David Hockney Building, which will be used for training.

The business and training salon will include a barber shop, nail bar and laser room for beauty treatments. Business and administration students will have refurbished classrooms and media students will be able to use the latest technology in a new TV studio, editing and sound spaces.

The construction schedule will take place over the summer, minimizing disruption to students.

Pamela Sheldon, Head of Projects at Bradford College, said: “Sewell Construction has not only helped us create a better campus for our students, but also gets involved in our curriculum, supporting our construction students with masterclasses, internships for work. and industry insight days. Together, we can help young people reach their potential and truly change lives.”

Work is expected to begin at the end of May.

Sewell Construction and Bradford College will also work together on the refurbishment of the college’s Advanced Technology Centre, which is being refurbished to meet the college’s growing demand for student places.

Seen as a technical alternative to the more academic A-levels, the qualification has seen low uptake nationally as well as high school dropout rates.

This has led to calls from teachers’ unions to reform the qualification.