Forth Valley College’s new £78 million Falkirk Campus opened its doors to students for the first time on Monday 13 January 2020, marking a historic moment for the local area.
The new campus - which will serve as FVC’s headquarters - completes the college’s ambitious £128 million estates programme which saw their Alloa Campus (£21 million) opened in 2011 and their Stirling Campus (£29 million) opened a year later. The Scottish Government’s investment in the construction of the new campus, makes the campus one of the largest publicly funded building projects in Scotland.
Designed by architects Reiach and Hall and constructed by Balfour Beatty the unique state-of-the-art facilities include, world class laboratories, a process training rig, transmission training centre, distillation plant, virtual control room, mini-rig, biotechnology centre, construction workshops, sports centre and front of house training salons for hairdressing and beauty.
The progressive approach to learning and teaching in the campus is enhanced by cutting edge classrooms, flexible spaces across the campus and highly advanced technology throughout. Other facilities include a first class learning resource centre, food outlets, conferencing and sports facilities.
It was just over two years ago that then Scottish Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, Shirley-Anne Somerville, used a digger to cut the first section of turf at the Middlefield site on Friday 10 November 2017.
Now FVC students are taking their seats in new classrooms to train to become the workforce of the future. The 20,709 square metre facility will host 450 members of staff and cater for 2,000 full-time students.
Further Education Minister Richard Lochhead said: “Forth Valley College’s new Falkirk campus is a first-class facility which offers students access to a wide variety of state-of-the-art classrooms and facilities tailored to specific subjects, allowing a progressive approach to learning and teaching.
“It will support future economic development across the wider community, providing essential workforce skills and training and new employment opportunities. The hub will also offer cultural and social benefits to the local area, and I am pleased the Scottish Government was able to support its development with a contribution of £65 million.”
Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said: “Students and staff at Forth Valley College now have three 21st century campuses providing inspiring places in which to learn, teach and innovate. This is a significant achievement for everyone involved and will have fantastic benefits for the region.”
Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, Leader of Falkirk Council said: “I am delighted that the New Forth Valley College Campus in Falkirk is open. It has been a mammoth undertaking and Falkirk will now benefit from a state of the art learning environment.
“We are looking forward to building on our already excellent relationships with Forth Valley College and developing even more innovative learning opportunities for our children and young people in partnership with them.”
Dr Ken Thomson, Forth Valley College Principal, said: “Seeing our students walk through the doors of our new Falkirk Campus was an exhilarating and proud experience. It was great to welcome them and I am excited to see everyone settle in to this excellent new learning environment.
“Our new HQ – which will focus heavily on training facilities designed for science and technology, engineering, sport and healthcare – will enhance further education for the people of Falkirk and beyond, for years to come.
“We can’t thank architects Reiach and Hall and Balfour Beatty enough for designing and constructing our new building and helping us to realise our vision, and I personally would like to thank everyone who has worked on the project for guiding it to completion.
“We are holding an open evening on 23 January and hope to see as many local people as possible come along to see our fantastic community facility. We are really proud of the new campus and we want the people of Falkirk to be proud of it too.”
Ross Martin, Chair of FVC’s Board of Management, said: “The opening of our new Falkirk Campus - our HQ - is a major milestone for tertiary education in and around the Forth Valley, offering state of the art facilities in a spectacular setting.
“Although the scale of our ambition is clearly visible from the outside, the quality of provision and the talent we are nurturing can only properly be seen in the internal reflections of this magnificently designed learning environment.
“This new addition to the Falkirk landscape, alongside the iconic Kelpies and the magnificent Falkirk Wheel is a key place-making project. It anchors the Gateway to the Town, making a proud statement to all those who will benefit from the quality of its construction and kit out.”
Mariola Skorzenc (23) a City and Guilds Hairdressing student from Camelon, said: “I like the new Falkirk Campus and am very excited about getting started. It’s a great environment for learning.”
Andrew Smirthwaite, President of Forth Valley Student Association (FVSA), said: “It’s a wonderful new place to be. It’s airy, it’s light, it’s not like the old campus, it’s fabulous to be in and it’s got a great atmosphere and now that the students are back it’s an even better atmosphere that it is fantastic to feel. This new Falkirk Campus brings all three campuses together to complete the FVC estates programme. It is great to finally now be in the future.”
Ashley Stewart (34) a Pathway to Fitness student from Shieldhill in Falkirk, said: “It is way better than what we had across the road in the old building and I am looking forward to learning here. I am really impressed, especially with the gym and sports area, which is really going to enhance my learning.”
Frazer Campbell (20) from Airth, a WGM Mechanical Engineering Modern Apprentice, said: “It is really nice and modern and I am very impressed with it. The open concept is great and the breakout areas are really good. I am going to enjoy studying here.”
David Connell (31) from Falkirk, a BSc Applied Biological Sciences student, said: “The new Falkirk Campus looks absolutely cracking and is a very modern building. About 10 years ago I attended the old Falkirk Campus and was actually student president for a while.
“I was involved with the planning and design for the new Forth Valley College Alloa and Stirling Campuses. I also used to work with Education Scotland through the Student Union and some of the colleges I have seen, like North Glasgow, Clydebank, Highlands and Islands, were really modern campuses and I was always a wee bit envious when I was over in Falkirk. I always thought that Falkirk deserved a great college too and to be fair this is really amazing and fit for the 21st century.”
