STUDENTS starting at Epping Forest College are the first to benefit from its recent multi-million pound investment.

The Loughton-based college has seen its campus transformed over the last 18 months with the addition of a new £40million building housing state of the art facilities and classrooms.

College principal Peter Sadler thinks the new-look campus will open up a world of opportunity for the people of Epping Forest and beyond.

He said: “This is a £40million investment as part of a government strategy to ensure we’ve got gold class facilities to deliver world class learning, and this is a world class college now.

“This is probably the best college building I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been doing this job for the last 30 years. There’s nothing like it anywhere around here.”

Among the new facilities on offer are a television studio, ceramics room, and motor construction area.

Learning facilities at the college have also been improved with computers in every room and a new community library due to open soon, staffed by Essex County Council.

Mr Sadler has stressed the importance of interacting with the local community and hopes his college’s new facilities will be enjoyed by all.

As well as the library, the college has a new cafeteria open to the public, and hopes soon to offer retail units staffed by students including hair and beauty facilities.

Mr Sadler said: “For this college this building is a new beginning with a new set of objectives not least to engage with the community but also to provide a wider range of education services for that community.

“There’s a whole new world of higher education out there. Working people or more mature people who can’t give up three years of their life to go to uni can actually go to their local college. That’s attractive to people maybe with care responsibilities or people with other life responsibilities or work locally and need to do a part-time degree.

“We’re the people that give the skills for people who go into businesses to make those businesses more profitable. It hasn’t really happened round here enough.

“Given that this is a brand new building, I want to bring people into that bulding to use it as part of that everyday life. There’s a theatre a dance studio, all sorts of rooms which I hope people will come in and access.”

Phase two of the campus re-development, which will see a new community sports hall built, is already in the planning stages, and more courses and facilities are already in the pipeline.

For more information on courses at the college visit www.epping-forest.ac.uk or call 020 8508 8311.