New college campus opens doors to first students

City of Wolverhampton College's new multimillion-pound campus has now opened

A new college campus, forming part of Wolverhampton's City Learning Quarter, has opened the doors to its first students.

City of Wolverhampton College's new multimillion-pound campus replaces the college's 63-year-old Paget Road campus in Compton and is designed to offer modern purpose-built facilities for a wide range of courses.

Paget Road's site has now closed and has been identified as potential land for housing.

The new campus, alongside ongoing improvements to the neighbouring Adult Education Wolverhampton and Central Library facilities, form the £61m second phase of the council's City Learning Quarter masterplan.

'Real buzz'

The city centre campus will offer A-levels in a range of subjects and vocational qualifications.

Situated around the Old Hall Street and St George's Parade area, incorporating a site on the corner of Garrick Street and Bilston Street where the former Faces nightclub building once stood, the development also utilised the existing Metro One building.

The city centre campus will offer A-levels in a range of subjects and vocational qualifications, from design and photography to business and management

Louise Fall, the college's principal and chief executive, said: "The new building is amazing and there was a real buzz as we started welcoming students returning after the half-term break.

"This is the start of an exciting new era for the college which will further establish it as a leading provider of further education in the region, and it will also have a huge impact on the employment prospects and life chances for the thousands of people who will be able to access courses and learning programmes more easily due to its city centre location."

Councillor Chris Burden said: "Seeing the first students enjoying this wonderful, state of the art City Learning Quarter campus and the opportunities it presents for them to thrive is what it is all about.

"It will also act as a focal point, bringing vibrancy to the city centre, with students, staff and visitors set to boost footfall by 4,500 a week to support neighbouring businesses."

The college has forecast that about 45,000 people will study at the City Learning Quarter over 10 years

Phase one of the City Learning Quarter masterplan – a £8.1m Advanced Technology and Automotive Centre at the college's Wellington Road campus – opened to students in September 2024.

The proposals were initially supported by investment from the council with a further £49m coming through government funding, plus additional government grants and contributions from the college and council.

The college forecasts that over a 10-year period approximately 45,000 people will study at the City Learning Quarter and around 7,500 apprenticeships will be started.

Warinder Juss, the Labour MP for Wolverhampton West, said the new campus was a significant investment for the city's "present and future".

"It is vital that we have the skills necessary for the city to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution of converging technologies and artificial intelligence," he said.

"The new campus will play a key role in helping us to shape the future."