Royal opening for Sellafield’s £30m education campus

Campus Whitehaven – Sellafield’s largest ever community investment – was officially opened by HRH Princess Anne.

The Princess Royal toured the £30m facility meeting staff, students, governors, and local stakeholders.

She unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the site, which houses St Benedict’s Roman Catholic Secondary School and Mayfield Special School.

We invested an original £10m from our social impact budget to get the project off the ground.

Further funding was provided by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Copeland Community Fund, and Cumbria County Council.

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

This is our largest single social impact investment. I think it will prove to be one of the best decisions we ever made.

Campus Whitehaven is a world class learning environment and a real statement of the confidence we have in the future of our community.

Construction work finished last year and lessons began in the building in January.

The royal visit was an opportunity for staff, students, and the community to officially mark the site’s opening.

The Princess was greeted by crowds of flag waving students from Mayfield.

Sellafield Ltd supply chain director Martin Chown was among the invited guests.

He said:

It was a fabulous occasion. The building looks tremendous and the energy and enthusiasm of the students was genuinely uplifting.

The campus will help raise educational attainment levels so more young people can access future opportunities in our decommissioning programme and beyond.

It’s a genuine community asset which is already improving lives in west Cumbria. It’s a perfect demonstration of our social impact strategy in action.

Gillian Temple, Mayfield School headteacher, said:

We were delighted and honoured to have opportunity to showcase our wonderful new facilities.

Her Royal Highness enjoyed seeing our fantastic new learning environment along with the commitment and dedication of all our students and staff.