Multi-million-pound facilities open at college

A Surrey education provider said it is marking the "beginning of a new chapter" as it opens new facilities.

Merrist Wood College and University Centre, which offers specialist courses in land-based sectors like agriculture and conservation, will unveil two new buildings on Wednesday.

They form part of a major redevelopment of its campus near Guildford, funded with £21m from the Department for Education.

Jo Manser, group director of Merrist Wood College and University Centre, said the site had a "proud history".

"But today is about looking to the future," she continued.

The education provider said the new facilities would give learners access to modern workshops, laboratories, technology and specialist environments.

These will more closely reflect the places they encounter when they move into employment or further study, it continued.

The official opening of the Norman Shaw and Peyto Shrubb buildings will be celebrated at an event on Wednesday.

Attendees include Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey Neelam Dharni Devesher, who is due to unveil a commemorative plaque and cut a floral garland to mark the occasion.

Merrist Wood College and University Centre, which provide further and higher education, has a 400-acre estate with woodlands, wetlands, livestock, gardens and grasslands, as well as a campus plant nursery, workshops and design studios.

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