£20,000 facility for HE students

The new build, at the centre on Halifax Road in Dewsbury, has been created as a space exclusively for higher education students to use for relaxation and private study.

The area was converted from a former IT room in the main building, and now includes computer workstations, a group study area, sofas, tables and chairs and a kitchen where students can obtain their much-needed caffeine fix.

Head of HE at Kirklees College Claire Heke said: “We want to encourage our students to go higher and get more so we felt they needed a space separate from the main college where they can study quietly, charge their devices or just chill out with their friends.

“It is important for the college to invest in its students to ensure they get a quality experience. We felt our HE students needed an area for themselves with facilities like a university and they will have management of it.”

Ben Duxbury, who is studying FdSc computing (forensics and security), said: “It is a lot better to have a room where we can study or just relax.

“It’s somewhere nice you can come in to work on days where you don’t have any lessons.”

The college has centres in both Dewsbury and Huddersfield and offers a number of higher education courses including in business, childcare, construction, counselling and engineering.

For more information about the new build, visit www.kirkleescollege.ac.uk/he.