Daventry iCon campus opens for special needs students

The iCon campus is based at the iCon centre, which opened in 2011

A new education facility that aims to help students with special needs prepare for working life is opening this week.

The iCon campus has been set up in the iCon building, which opened in Daventry, Northamptonshire, in 2011.

It will be part of the Creating Tomorrow College (CTC), based in Kettering .

Students will learn about independent living and being part of the community, as well as employment skills.

When it opened, the iCon building was partly funded by the European Union and designed to be a start-up centre for companies involved in sustainable construction.

However, it proved difficult to fill all of the office space and some was eventually occupied by firms with no direct connection to the sector.

The site included a café which struggled to attract custom and eventually closed.

The campus will share the building with companies based at the iCon centre

The iCon will now be home to a campus operated by the Creating Tomorrow Trust, which runs the nearby Hill School for children with special needs and a number of other schools in the county.

'We are thrilled'

The CTC already has a campus at the Chester House Estate, just outside Irthlingborough, and a satellite campus at Raunds Library, where some students help to run the book-lending service.

The Daventry site is designed for children in years 12 and 13, formerly known as the sixth form.

They will be put on a "pathway to employment" programme that aims to provide practical skills and knowledge for living and working, as well as a sense of community involvement.

The students will be offered work experience opportunities and the trust hopes to run supported internships from next year.

The college principal, Gareth Ivett, said: "We are thrilled to bring Creating Tomorrow College to Daventry through Icon Campus.

"Our commitment to preparing students for the challenges of the modern workforce is at the heart of our mission, and the Icon Campus will play a pivotal role in achieving that mission."