Sizewell C announces plan to build post-16 college

The new college will be opened in partnership with Suffolk New College

Sizewell C nuclear power plant has announced plans to build and open a new post-16 college.

Working in partnership with Suffolk New College, Sizewell C said it planned for the college to be opened in Leiston, Suffolk, in September 2027.

The institution would offer comprehensive, multi-site education and training and also support up to 540 local apprentices, it added.

Julia Pyke, Sizewell C joint managing director, said the college would create a "highly skilled, homegrown workforce".

Sizewell C joint managing director Julia Pyke said the college would benefit the area long after construction work

The college would be an extension of Suffolk New College's coastal campus and will offer technical, vocational and academic pathways aligned not only to the workforce needs of Sizewell C, but the wider energy, infrastructure and engineering sectors.

"Working with Suffolk New College, we're going well beyond our planning requirements to deliver a new college for Leiston – where public transport is a barrier to post-16 education – and which will continue to benefit the area long after construction has finished," Ms Pyke said.

"Alongside a new apprenticeship hub and centre of excellence, for which we'll work with a range of local partners, we'll be providing new facilities that will mark a major step forward for education and training in this rural area of Suffolk," she added.

Alan Pease of Suffolk New College said the new education facility would help support the local community

Alan Pease, Suffolk New College's principal and chief executive officer, said the new college would allow it to support the local community "not only related to skills required by Sizewell C, but also more generally".

"As a community-based college, Suffolk New College already work with learners from across Suffolk, but the new campus will allow us to bring our expertise in the delivery of vocational and technical education to the local community in Leiston and its surrounding areas," he said.

Lesley Hill said the college could create opportunities for people living locally to Sizewell C

Lesley Hill, the mayor of Leiston-cum-Sizewell Town Council, said she was excited by the opportunities the college would offer to local people.

The planned Sizewell C plant is expected to cost about £20bn