PERSHORE College will benefit from a £1.2million chunk of government funding secured by operators WCG.

The seven-figure grant comes from a £50million pot set aside for the T Level Capital Fund.

T levels are new national qualifications that form part of the government’s flagship reforms to technical education in England.

The courses combine classroom theory and practical learning with industry placements of at least nine weeks to give students real experience of the workplace.

WCG, formerly Warwickshire College Group, is among the first college groups to introduce the technical qualifications with its digital support services T level being delivered from September 2021 engineering, health & science and construction being introduced in September 2022.

The government funding will see existing buildings, workshops and classroom space refurbished at Pershore, Rugby and Royal Leamington Spa College sites.

Pershore College will convert a large open space into a series of classrooms and laboratories to facilitate the delivery of the health & science T Level. This will include the addition of hospital beds

and other equipment to provide students with the best learning environment.

Peter Husband, chief operating officer and group principal at WCG, said: “This successful bid for capital funds to support our T level provision in 2022 and beyond will ensure we provide a suitable

and modern environment in which learning can take place.

“This funding is in addition to funding we have already received to invest in industry specialist equipment to support the delivery of our four T level routes.

“We will be investing the funding across our Pershore, Royal Leamington Spa and Rugby sites.

“The work carried out at all three sites will allow us to cater for growth in student numbers while ensuring existing students have access to the best possible equipment and learning environment.

“T levels are designed to generate a skilled workforce to support the future economy and we are working closely with businesses across the Midlands to generate high-quality industry placements as part of the course.”