Made in Northern Ireland – for us!

Our students have crossed the Irish Sea to find out how our new college block is being built. 

Eight learners from Leeds Sixth Form College and Leeds City College flew to Belfast to visit the headquarters of modular buildings specialist, McAvoy. 

The group was treated to a tour of the factory which included a look at modules – building units – that are being made for a new sports and science block at Park Lane Campus. 

The students, who were welcomed by McAvoy’s Preconstruction Director, Stephen Clayton, also got a chance to see and control a new £650,000 combi-lift. 

A spectacular learning experience

For Karen Chimbumu, that was the highlight of a ‘spectacular’ trip. She said: “The most amazing part was getting a chance to operate the combi-lift, which is one of its kind, and also watching my fellow students operate the VR headsets which allowed them to ‘walk around’ the science and sports building. 

“We also got to virtually construct a mini-module which was great and made us feel as though we were taking part in the actual modular building project.

“Overall, the total experience was just spectacular – they all showed us great hospitality and gave us a top-tier experience.” 

The trip was led by Park Lane Campus Operations Manager, Andy Shaw and our Deputy Head of STEM, Alex Wilkinson. They were both delighted to see how much everyone got out of it. 

A unique insight into construction

Alex said: “The visit gave students a unique opportunity to see how design, manufacturing and transport all work together to make the building we will have on our campus in early 2025. We’re looking forward to taking students to visit the site when our modules arrive in the new year.” 

Mr Shaw added: “The trip gave me a whole new appreciation for the scale and craftsmanship involved in the construction of our new C Block. It was amazing to share this experience with the students and watch their excitement as they learned about the modular construction process and how innovative ideas can turn into reality.”

Modular construction involves making parts of a building at a different location and then putting them together on the development site, which can bring substantial cost and time savings.

Work on the new three storey block at Park Lane, which will create facilities for 250 more of our and Leeds City College’s students in the Science and Sport departments, began in September.