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The Corby Sixth Form officially opened

The Corby Sixth Form opening group photo.

Royal visit for Corby.

Following on from a visit by HRH The Duke of Gloucester last week and having welcomed students in September, The Corby Sixth Form has officially been opened by Cllr Jason Smithers, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council and Tom Pursglove, MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire.

On Tuesday 7 November, students and a small group of stakeholders welcomed HRH The Duke of Gloucester for an official visit, where accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire they were given a tour of the facilities, met with students and heard more about the project.

Following on from this visit, the site was officially opened on Thursday 9 November by Cllr Jason Smithers and Tom Pursglove MP, with representatives from North Northamptonshire Council, The Bedford College Group, representatives of the Corby Towns Deal board and key representatives from the project team including Devonshire Architects and T&B Contractors all in attendance.

The official opening ceremony was also an opportunity for The Bedford College Group to introduce its new Chief Executive, Yiannis Koursis OBE, who shared his excitement for the future of the project and thanked all involved for making The Corby Sixth Form a reality.

The Corby Sixth Form Biology class.

State of the Art Campus

The state-of-the-art campus situated in the heart of Corby town centre is net zero carbon in operation and currently has its first year cohort of students studying a wide range of A Level subjects and a selection of Diplomas.

The Corby Sixth Form will continue to grow to accommodate up to 660 students per academic year who will have the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects and courses including A Level subjects including maths, English Literature, sciences, humanities and languages as well as Diploma courses in areas like business, health and social care and more.

The start of a journey

Cllr Jason Smithers, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council, said:

“The new Sixth Form has been open to students for a couple of months now and the surrounding area is already seeing a positive impact, with students and staff contributing to the local economy.

“It is great to see the classrooms and impressive facilities in use and students learning about a variety of topics. This is start of the College’s journey and I look forward to seeing it grow, welcoming more students over the coming years.”

Yiannis Koursis OBE, CEO Designate of The Bedford College Group commented:

“I am delighted to have joined the Group and to celebrate this fantastic new campus to ensure that young people in the area are able to have more choice to study the subjects they wish within a dedicated sixth form college environment to prepare them for their next steps to university or work. We are grateful to our partners who have helped us to make this possible.”

The Corby Sixth Form opening group photo.
Staff and guests at The Corby Sixth Form opening.
The Corby Sixth Form opening.

Looking forward

Tom Pursglove, MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, said:

“I’m incredibly proud that the new Corby Sixth Form is now in full swing, following my first visit a couple of months ago. To see local students and staff members benefit from this state-of-the-art facility, which has a real community feel to it, is really heartening and it will provide a first-class education for years to come. Thanks to the Government’s £20 million ‘Corby Town Deal’, young people here in Corby now have a huge variety of subjects and new impressive facilities available to them to truly kickstart their next chapters, moving into exciting and rewarding careers, and I’m eager to see how the sixth-form will continue to go from strength to strength, welcoming new students in future.

I look forward to working with Corby Sixth Form, North Northamptonshire Council, Bedford College and those on the Corby Town Deal Board to ensure that this new provision has the biggest and most positive impact possible for our community in the long-term, ensuring the best life chances for people in our town.”

The new campus has been delivered in partnership between The Bedford College Group and North Northamptonshire Council, with the Sixth Form being run by The Bedford College Group. The site was made possible due to funding from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities received by NNC.

The project has been facilitated through the Corby Towns Fund, which sees the Corby area receiving £19.9m from central Government for four projects, including the new sixth form centre.