Hobson & Porter, Innovation based on tradition

Guests, staff and students gathered on Friday, 10th October to celebrate another major stage in the development of Wyke Sixth Form College. Mr Stephen Greep, CEO of the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust opened the latest £7m building.

This is the middle stage in the total renewal of Wyke and guests toured the superb new accommodation, designed by architects Broadway Malyan and built by Hull contractors, Hobson & Porter. The project is funded by the College with significant assistance from government through the Learning and Skills Council.

The building, called Ash in line with a natural theme of tree species used in the development, houses science, art, humanities, ICT, health and social care and modern foreign languages teaching. There are 36 class teaching spaces and two learning resource areas.

Principal, Dr Richard Smith, said: "Students immediately showed their appreciation of these facilities when they started their courses this September. This is a serious building for people serious about learning and sure about transforming their lives. We are delighted to be able to invest in futures in this way; the whole project shows a public commitment to renewal. More than 80% of the cost comes from central government and Wyke was the first college in the country to secure this sort of backing for its students."

Mr Mike Rogerson, Vice Principal for students, said: "We are delighted to have this new accommodation in place for the rapidly rising number of students wishing to study at Wyke. Enrolment at the College rose 10% again this year, so it comes just in time."

Chair of Corporation, John Wilson, said: "This is a wonderful building for learning and a truly green building. It is designed for temperature control right through the structure. Ground-source pumps circulate water constantly around the building from 40 100m deep bore-holes, providing or removing heat, according to the season. The system is micro-controlled electronically, allowing adjustment of every space. There's natural ventilation and maximum use of natural light. It uses so little energy, it has the carbon footprint of a carbon ballerina."

Stephen Greep, CEP of Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "I am honoured to have been asked to open the new Ash development at Wyke College. The Ash building is excellent and clearly a very innovative and modern structure which we will be able to learn from when we are considering forthcoming development work."

Alan Woodcock, Director of Resources at Wyke, is the man who knows all the delights and all the pressures of completing building projects like this. He comments: "This is an exciting moment for me and for the team of people involved. All those hours of planning, designing and dreaming finally come to marvellous fruition. Though I say it myself, I think it is a very fine building and it is going to do everything it says on its tin for generations to come.

Now, it's onward to the final stage. We've already begun on the £11 million final building which will include our new access from Bricknell Avenue."