College unveils £8.8 million flagship centre

A “transformative” educational facility in the heart of Mansfield has been unveiled.

West Nottinghamshire College has officially launched the Mansfield Ambition Exchange, an £8.8 million facility built by Nottingham-based Clegg Construction. 

The state-of-the-art two-storey centre at the Chesterfield Road campus spans 1343sq metres and will serve over 350 students studying business and T Level professional construction programmes. 

Classrooms, IT suites, a Learning Resource Centre and a flexible T Level room that doubles as a conference facility provide modern, adaptable spaces for teaching, events and independent study.

Officials say the centre strengthens links between the college and industry, enabling students and local employers to collaborate on real projects and hosting events with partners including Nottingham Trent University, Mansfield and Ashfield Business Network and the East Midlands Chamber.

They add it will equip the local area with skills for emerging industries, helping businesses grow while providing students with hands-on experience and employers access to a skilled graduate pipeline, ensuring the college supports the region’s future economic growth.

Andrew Cropley MBE, principal and chief executive of West Nottinghamshire College and chair of the Mansfield Place Board, said: “It’s great to celebrate the opening of Mansfield Ambition Exchange, which is already providing a great experience to over 350 young learners on our business studies and professional construction courses. 

“This excellent facility also gives us a great venue to offer technical courses to adults wishing to take their career forward or in a new direction, and to support businesses to prosper and grow. 

“We will work closely with our partners at Nottingham Trent University to ensure this is an exciting and ambitious offer.

“I’m confident that the range of courses and events hosted in this building will raise the aspirations of businesses in the area, help them develop their plans, and then support them in turning those plans into reality.

“Meanwhile, the courses offered in the centre and across the wider college will support local people to seize the opportunities that emerge.

“We already have several such events and courses planned, and we look forward to working with colleagues at MABN, NTU, East Midlands Chamber and others to bring them to life.”

Jeremy Hague, director of knowledge exchange at Nottingham Trent University, added: “The Mansfield Ambition Exchange represents a powerful step forward in our shared mission to connect education with enterprise for the benefit of the local community.

“By bringing together students, educators and employers under one roof, it’s creating a dynamic environment where innovation thrives and ambition is nurtured.

“Nottingham Trent University is proud to collaborate with West Nottinghamshire College on this transformative initiative, which will help shape the future workforce and drive inclusive growth across Mansfield and beyond.”

Designed with sustainability and comfort in mind, the building incorporates light wells, heat recovery and variable refrigerant flow systems. 

External upgrades include improved car parking and landscaped areas, while historical elements such as the stone portico from the former School of Art have been preserved and integrated into the new centre.

Darren Chapman, operations director at Clegg Construction, said: “As a Nottinghamshire-based company, Clegg Construction was proud to have been appointed to deliver this exciting expansion for West Nottinghamshire College.

“We are very pleased to see how well the Mansfield Ambition Exchange has been received now that it is operational, and we are particularly happy to see that it is accommodating the T Level professional studies in construction course – helping to train the next generation of construction experts.

“Being born and bred in Mansfield, and having attended the college as a teenager to study construction, this is a project that’s close to my heart.”

The project is supported by £4.3 million from the UK Government’s Towns Fund, as well as £3.8 million from the Education and Skills Funding Agency and £734,000 from the college and NTU. 

It is part of Mansfield’s wider £12.3 million Towns Fund investment, which also includes projects such as the Warsop Health Hub and Berry Hill Park improvements.

Andy Abrahams, executive mayor of Mansfield, added: “The Ambition Exchange puts opportunity where it belongs – on our doorstep. 

“This college site has come full circle, from cherished memories to a new sixth-form hub in 2021, and now to a place where education, enterprise and community meet.

“Our goal is simple: equip people with the capabilities our economy needs and energise the town centre while we do it. 

“If we want streets that are lively all week and into the evening, we must attract, develop and retain our young people – students, apprentices, founders and early-career professionals – because footfall follows opportunity.

“When talent trains and starts up here, cafés fill, venues buzz and a renewed rhythm of life returns. 

“To business: offer placements and first jobs. To young people: make this your launchpad. 

“Together, we can make Mansfield the place where ambition starts – and stays.”

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