Letter to staff and students
Dear Colleague/student
Southend Adult Community College in Leigh
I am writing to update you on the adult and community learning developments that are taking place in the Leigh area of the Borough.
The College was well represented by Governors and staff at the recent opening of the new Belfairs School. The building includes an integrated adult and community education centre, comprising of a suite of eight teaching/training rooms which are dedicated for use by the College throughout the day.
This unique development provides an exciting opportunity to develop the College’s provision in the Leigh area. The ‘state of the art’ facilities available on the site will enable the College to develop new curriculum opportunities, with access to the specialist rooms in the main school building. These new facilities will enable the College to offer 21st Century teaching and learning to the whole community and further meet the educational and social needs of the area.
The new adult education centre at Belfairs is over two floors. On the ground floor we have five rooms, two of which can be opened up by sound proofed partition doors. The facilities also include a computer suite and fully accessible toilets and lift. On the first floor there are three teaching spaces including a large art room. We have a large number of laptop computers which access the wireless network, enabling use in any room.
In addition to these dedicated facilities the college will be working in partnership with the school to make use of the specialist facilities available in the school, these include a fully equipped training kitchen and dance studio. There is also access to a communal café area with comfortable seating.
The next twelve months will see the completion of the project with the demolition of the old Belfairs school building and the creation of car parking facilities for both school and community use. While this final phase of the project is completed, the College will be offering a limited number of courses in readiness for a full programme starting in September 2012. We are looking forward to working in partnership with the school and the local community to further promote lifelong learning in the area and increase our student enrolments in Leigh.
We are in the process of planning two sessions to enable existing College students to visit these impressive new facilities. You are therefore invited to visit the new Belfairs Centre on Thursday 24th November between 6.30pm and 8.30pm and on Friday 25th November between 10.30am and 12.30pm.
The opening of the new Belfairs Centre will have an impact on the College’s future use of the Leigh Centre in Elm Road. The Borough Council are in the process of determining a long term vision for the area which includes the Leigh Centre. In the medium term, the Council is exploring community based options that would enable on-going usage of the Centre, enabling some of the current activities to continue until the long term plans are fully developed.
The overall management of the building will revert to the Borough Council, as the owners, from August next year. Therefore provision in Leigh for the 2012/13 academic year will either be:
- delivered at the new Belfairs Centre
- delivered at the Leigh Centre under a new management arrangement
- or using other venues in the vicinity
Although it is too early to specify the detail of these arrangements at this stage there will be a regular dialogue with all interested parties during the course of the year. The College will keep all staff and students updated on developments at the Belfairs Centre and Leigh Centre as further information is available.
In the meantime, I hope you are able to take advantage of the opportunity to visit the new centre and continue to enjoy the courses you are currently involved in.
Yours faithfully
Stephen Lay
Principal
