Forth Valley College's Falkirk campus is officially opened nearly three years after opening to students

The official opening ceremony for the state-of-the-art campus had originally been earmarked for April 2020, however the Covid-19 pandemic meant it had to be cancelled.

Jamie Hepburn, Scotland’s Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training, was finally able to do the honours this week.

The Scottish Government’s investment in the construction of the new campus made it one of the largest publicly funded building projects in Scotland.

Joining Mr Hepburn for the celebrations were Mike Cantlay, chairman of the Scottish Funding Council; Hector MacAuley, managing director at Balfour Beatty, the main contractors for the campus; and Neil Gillespie, design director at Reiach and Hall Architects.

The new campus in Grangemouth Road was open for just over two months when it was closed in March 2020 due to the Covid lockdown.

During that time the college under went a transformation from face-to-face teaching to remote learning for students. However the campus was not idle and showed what a valuable community asset it has become, as NHS Forth Valley used it – and its sister campuses in Alloa and Stirling – as Covid vaccination centres where more than 300,000 people received their vaccinations.

Mr Hepburn was given an extensive tour of the campus this week, spending time in the bespoke science labs, engineering super workshop and innovative renewables training centre.

The minister said: “This £78 million campus is a remarkable setting for learning and demonstrates Forth Valley College’s commitment to providing the best learning opportunities possible to the people of this region. It also shows this government’s investment and belief in the college sector. As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, the role of Scotland’s colleges in rebuilding our economy will be even more crucial than ever. Forth Valley College should take huge pride in the role it plays in ensuring Scotland has the skilled workforce our communities, employers and economy require.”

Professor Ken Thomson, Forth Valley College principal, said he was delighted “to finally see our fantastic Falkirk Campus officially opened”.

He said: “We have been waiting on this day for more than two and a half years and all our staff and students deserve to savour this moment for everything they have been through over that time. Our new HQ – which focuses heavily on training facilities designed for science and technology, engineering, sport and healthcare – will enhance further education for the people of Falkirk and beyond, for years to come.

“We can’t thank architects Reiach and Hall and our main contractors Balfour Beatty enough for designing and constructing our new building and helping us to realise our vision, and I personally would like to thank everyone who has worked on the project for guiding it to completion.”

The state-of-the-art facilities include world class laboratories, a process training rig, transmission training centre, distillation plant, virtual control room, mini-rig, biotechnology centre, sports centre and front of house training salons for hairdressing and beauty therapy.

Other facilities include a first class learning resource centre, food outlets, conferencing and sports facilities.

Trudi Craggs, Interim Chair of FVC’s Board of Management, said: “It is an absolute pleasure to be here today to be part of the official opening of our Falkirk Campus. I have been involved on the board since the detailed design stage. I have watched our vision becoming a reality during the construction period and had the honour of taking part in the topping out ceremony, putting my hand prints in the concrete on the roof!

“I have seen first-hand all of the hard work that has gone in to getting us to today, not only by college staff, but also by Balfour Beatty and their team. Completing the building and decanting from the old campus while still delivering for our students was no mean feat. We now have a fantastic facility fitting for the College, providing our students with a second to none learning environment.

“I would like to thank Ken and his senior management team for their vision, tenacity and hard work. And I would also thank my fellow board members for believing in and fully supporting the project and providing oversight and guidance throughout.”