Lessons start at new £30m education campus

The doors have opened on Sellafield Ltd’s largest ever community investment.

Campus Whitehaven, a £30m education complex, welcomed its first students in January.

The site is home to state-of-the-art new buildings for St Benedict’s secondary school and Mayfield special educational needs school.

Sellafield Ltd invested an original £10m to get the project off the ground, That attracted an additional £20m in funding from other sources.

Jamie Reed, Sellafield Ltd head of corporate affairs, said:

The opening of Campus Whitehaven is a huge moment for our community.

This is the biggest single investment in education in Whitehaven since the 1960s.

Funding for the project came from a range of partners including the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Copeland Community Fund, and Cumbria County Council.

The site includes new community sports provision, as well as a range of facilities for children with special educational needs including a hydrotherapy pool, a life skills flat, sensory rooms, and an immersive room.

Jamie added:

Sellafield Ltd is tasked with getting the maximum possible value out of our £2bn a year budget.

That means getting the best value for the mission, the nuclear industry, the taxpayer, and our local community.

In my view, a £10m original investment, which unlocks a further £20m to deliver a state-of-the-art educational facility is tremendous value.

Campus Whitehaven will directly help to progress the Sellafield mission and strengthen the local economy.

It will also ensure more of our young people benefit from the opportunities created in the local economy in years to come.

The campus was officially ‘handed over’ to the 2 schools at a VIP event on 18 January.

An opening event is planned for July.