Bridgend College’s STEAM Academy enters next stage of construction

Bridgend College’s STEAM Academy has officially entered the next stage of construction with a ‘topping out’ ceremony held at our Pencoed Campus on September 7th.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

CEO and Principal, Simon Pirotte, took part in the ceremony alongside Deputy Principal Viv Buckley, Vice Principal Andrew Gibbs and Chair of Governors Paul Croke and the project’s main contractor, construction specialist ISG. This exciting milestone marks the completion of the main structure of our state-of-the-art STEAM Academy.

The £30 million flagship centre for Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics opens in September 2021. It will offer many benefits to the local community, including evening and weekend adult learning and a multi-purpose lecture hall and conference facilities available for hire in a bid to support businesses in the local and wider community.

The project has been partly funded by the Welsh Government through its 21st Century Schools and Education Programme, which aims to transform the learning experience of learners, ensuring they are taught in classrooms with the technologies and facilities needed to deliver a 21st Century curriculum.

The next phase of construction will include external work such as the installation of the Photovoltaic solar panels on the roof and cladding, as well as the first stage of the internal fitout. Over the next few months, ISG will also be moving on to the construction of our new Landbased Centre at Pencoed.

The initial ‘breaking of the ground’ ceremony was held on-site at Pencoed Campus back in December 2019 and saw Kirsty Williams, Minister for Education in Wales, in attendance alongside Councillors and AMs, Bridgend College Governors, and various stakeholders from the local and wider community.

This is an exciting development for students and staff, as well as Bridgend and the wider region. We look forward to the next stage of the project.