Stafford's old university campus to house boarding school and university

joshua

Well-Known Forumite
Stafford's old university campus to house boarding school and university under new plans


By Staffordshire Newsletter | Posted: November 30, 2016

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PLANS... The former Staffordshire University campus in Stafford will house boarding school and university.


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STAFFORD'S old university campus will be transformed into an international education centre housing a university, boarding school and entrepreneurship hub, the Newsletter can reveal.

The New Beacon Group has now taken ownership of the old Staffordshire University site in Beaconside and says it wants to preserve the legacy of the campus, while creating a centre for both British and overseas students.

Staffordshire University is also set to develop a partnership with the organisation and plans include incorporating the film production and digital media resources, previously offered at the campus.

The Group will establish an international boarding school, the Stafford International College, which will offer A-level courses and the International Baccalaureate. It will gradually expand to offer GCSEs and ultimately become a full international college for students aged 11-19.

A specialised university will provide undergraduate and postgraduate degrees with emphasis on entrepreneurship and innovation.

Alongside it will be an entrepreneurship hub aimed at helping start-ups and inviting entrepreneurs from China and the UK to give guest lectures, seminars and build real-life business environments for students to get hands-on experience of building a company.

There will also be a Digital Media Lab integrating film production technology, drama studio, media centre, music technology and computer games development for students working on digital media projects or to use digital media in the marketing process.

It is not yet known when the college will open or how many students it will house.

Dr Kai Liu, chief executive of the New Beacon Group, said: "We are delighted to begin this new chapter in the story of the Beaconside Campus. We take strength from the developments and breakthroughs which took place here and we want to make sure that this continues. The Beaconside Campus computer science pioneers, who sought to make the world a global village by facilitating such a high level of interconnectivity, lie at the heart of our efforts to bring students from all over the world together in one dynamic site."

Liz Barnes, vice-chancellor of Staffordshire University, said: "When we made the decision to sell our Beaconside campus, our legacy was important to us. It was where we pioneered computing degree courses over 50 years ago, and where we have become renowned for our entertainment and technology courses, notably our film and music technology and computer gaming and programming courses.

"We don't want to lose the educational impact Beaconside has had on the region, which is why we welcome the New Beacon Group's plans for an International College which we believe will be a great addition to the county town and feeds into our own Higher Education offer. Importantly, the university still has a major role to play in Stafford in our planned new partnership with the New Beacon Group, through our Centre of Excellence in Healthcare Education and our Business Village."

Councillor Patrick Farrington, leader of Stafford Borough Council, said the decision to develop a global education facility in Stafford demonstrated Stafford was seen as a great place to invest in.

"This is a very exciting project and we look forward to working closely with the New Beacon Group to maximise the opportunities this could bring to our residents and businesses."
 

Wormella

Well-Known Forumite
Looking forward to hearing the thoughts of @Wormella on this....

I don't have any - I pretty much called all of this once I heard 'Chinese investor' - it's the perfect size for a high school / college and I knew we'd have a hand in it all but I've no idea what that means yet, if anything at all for me.

I'll be really interested in watching it progress, but I've no real desire to go back to teach there - not sure like the idea of being that far away from a Wrights Custard Slice any more.
 

Rikki

Well-Known Forumite
I assume the sports facilities are still not going to be available to use then.
 

Gareth

Well-Known Forumite
See those Stokies what a piece of the cake.

clearly Stoke uni are concerned about competition and they now want a piece of the pie. Bearing in mind they made it clear they did not want an education establishment taking over to begin with

Good for Stafford though
 

HopesDad

Don't feed the troll
So the hype from the council is that 'the decision demonstrates that Stafford is a good place to invest in'

The reality is that Stafford is probably the only place on the planet with a second hand, hardly used, university up for sale.
 

Wormella

Well-Known Forumite
So the hype from the council is that 'the decision demonstrates that Stafford is a good place to invest in'

The reality is that Stafford is probably the only place on the planet with a second hand, hardly used, university up for sale.

Not sure about hardly used - some of the original building dates back to the 50's / 60's* with some new bricks on it and other bit have had a hard life in the 20 odd years since it was built.

*I'm sure someone will correct me
 

Gareth

Well-Known Forumite
So the hype from the council is that 'the decision demonstrates that Stafford is a good place to invest in'

The reality is that Stafford is probably the only place on the planet with a second hand, hardly used, university up for sale.

BORING change the record mate.

I wish people like you would just go away You even have anything good to contribute except being a keyboard warrior heading behind your pc with nothing good to say.

most towns would be all over this as a huge and exciting positive.

The fact this site wad bought immediately actually make the council's comments you are critical of correct.

not sure that says about you not reading between the lines.

why don't just smile just once, it might make you more positive instead all doom and gloom
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Saw that. Something to do with Stanley Davis Group, which definitely exists.
Might not be the same people, but only started in August and the Chinese connection looks plausible enough to be them.

Several people about with that name, it does seem to be a male name - a few are academics, too.

Who knows, all (or some) will be revealed in the fullness of time....

The address looks like it's used by many companies as an 'official' address, probably without any real physical presence for most, I suspect.
 
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