Former Birmingham City MD Karren Brady hails new campus

Dec 9 2009 by Tony Collins, Birmingham Mail

A NEW Birmingham college was given a VIP launch to mark the start of work on its £66 million state of the art campus.

Former Birmingham City FC managing director Karren Brady was invited to help unveil a scale model of the new Bournville College, which is set to take shape on the former MG Rover site.

Work has just begun on the 4.2 acre campus, offering a new learning resource centre, business school, construction workshop and leisure and sport facilities to 15,000 students.

Bournville, which had to scale back the cost of the scheme following financial difficulties at the Learning and Skills Council, celebrated the launch with a VIP event at the International Convention Centre.

It allowed visitors to have a sneak preview of the new college campus and see how it aims to act as a catalyst for the £1 billion regeneration of Longbridge.

With support from Advantage West Midlands, the LSC and Birmingham City Council, the new campus is to open its doors in September 2011, bringing together Bournville’s three campuses under one roof.

College principal Norman Cave said: “The mission of the college has always been to raise the level of skills and knowledge of people and organisations in the area.

“With this new build we will continue to offer our students the highest level of teaching. It has taken us five years to get to this point and the VIP evening allowed us to thank to those involved. It will also gave us an opportunity to showcase plans for the new build, proving the new College will not only benefit students but also the entire community of the south west of the city and beyond.”

The event included a short film shown to an invited audience of business, political, education and community leaders from Birmingham and the UK.

Ms Brady, who recently took over from Margaret Mountford as Sir Alan Sugar’s adviser on hit TV show The Apprentice, said she was delighted to have taken part in the “momentous occasion” in Bournville College’s history.

“The new build will play a vital role in the £1 billion regeneration project at Longbridge, providing a strong educational element to the employment led mixed-use development,” she said.

“In these trying and difficult times, it is vital we invest in the future of our community, in the hope that they will continue to take this country from strength to strength.”