Sizewell C announces location for new post-16 college in Suffolk

• New education campus to be built on eastern edge of Leiston, opposite Sizewell C’s Ancillary Construction Area (ACA)  

• College on the Coast and Apprentice Hub will have space for 150 students, 20 full-time staff and drop-in space for 50 apprentices  

• Education campus also includes Centre of Excellence, which will deliver training for Sizewell C workforce and address skills shortages in nuclear and construction sectors  

• Details shared with residents at public exhibition in Leiston  

Sizewell C has announced plans to build its new education campus – including a permanent post-16 college – on the eastern edge of its host town in Leiston, the project announced today.  

The location, design drawings, and further details on the education offering are being shared at a public exhibition in Leiston today, while a planning application for the College on the Coast and an Apprentice Hub will be submitted in the coming months.  

Sizewell C’s education campus will include: 

• College on the Coast – a new permanent FE location for Leiston, delivering technical, vocational, and academic pathways aligned to the workforce needs of Sizewell C and the wider energy, infrastructure, and engineering sectors, in partnership with Suffolk New College. 

• Apprenticeship & Trainee Hub – a dedicated centre for supporting up to 540 local apprentices, part of Sizewell C’s commitment to delivering 1,500 apprentices during construction. It will provide pastoral care, study space, extra curriculae courses, careers guidance, mentoring, a place to meet their employers and tutors and include facilities for outreach, employer engagement, and community use. 

• Centre of Excellence – purpose-built training infrastructure for SZC’s project-facing workforce, focused on ‘Right First Time’ skills in civils, mechanical, electrical and welding. The Centre of Excellence will focus on driving productivity, safety, and quality on nuclear construction projects – and will be delivered in partnership with regional academic and training partners.  

The proposed College and Apprentice Hub will be a single, two-storey building facing King George’s Avenue in Leiston with space for 150 students, 20 full time staff, as well as drop-in space for 50 apprentices. Its learning spaces will include classrooms, training suites, technical, digital and practical workshops, and a lecture theatre. The exterior of the building will be designed to make use of low-carbon and natural materials, with an aim to integrate the Suffolk ‘black barn’ style.  

Julia Pyke, Sizewell C Joint Managing Director, said: “This is the start of an exciting new chapter for Leiston and the wider region. For years, people in this part of Suffolk have faced real barriers to continuing their education and training – so building an education campus right here in this town will be life-changing for thousands of local people.  

“The new college will be here permanently, and we’ll be delivering it soon: courses will kick off as soon as September 2027. And we’ll be working with local partners to ensure that the Centre of Excellence delivers the kind of skills and training that the entire region needs, not just Sizewell C.  

“Infrastructure projects like ours have a great opportunity to do things differently and to meet the needs of the local community in a way that will create lasting benefits for generations to come – that’s exactly what an education campus will do for people here in the East of Suffolk.”   

The new College on the Coast, delivered in partnership with Suffolk New College, will provide post-16 technical and vocational pathways in engineering, digital skills, business, and logistics, supporting both apprenticeships and wider workforce progression. Courses will be made available for the normal application cycles before teaching starts in 2027. 

Alan Pease, Principal and Chief Executive Officer, Suffolk New College, said: “We first came to Leiston in September 2018 and we said at the time that it was a great day in the history of the college. 

“Now nearly eight years on, we are delighted to announce the location and design of our new Leiston training centre that will support local residents, ensuring they get the skills they need to help them progress. 

“This news further extends our commitment to support those living in the east of the county and builds on the work that we have achieved at our two Suffolk New College On The Coast campuses, situated in Leiston and Halesworth. 

“We are very grateful to the team at Sizewell C for their support on this and we can’t wait to get started so that we can continue to make a positive impact to those living in and around the town.” 

Sizewell C already has partnerships and MOUs in place with education providers across the region to support young people to access the opportunities on the project. Last year it launched a new employability hub, Nucleus, in partnership with East Coast College, to provide employment search assistance and application and interview support to those looking to secure employment in the region. 

With the support of Sizewell C, Kingfisher Schools Trust has established a collaboration between 18 primary and secondary schools in the area too. The cross-phase, cross Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) partnership is the first of its kind with an infrastructure project and is helping to improve the opportunities that local pupils have in school.  

The project also provides a £24m funding commitment to enhance facilities and resources in local colleges, Higher Education and training providers and improve skills. And its ‘Young Sizewell C’ initiative – which aims to help raise visibility and accessibility for young people to help them gain important opportunities on the Sizewell C project and supply chain – has so far seen over 1,300 sign-ups, while 200 schools have accessed the project’s Power Up education resources. 

Read Sizewell C’s initial announcement of its plans here.