THE first images of a £19 million sixth form college to be built in Bradford city centre have been revealed.

New College Bradford is due to open in September 2019, and will be built on the former site of Britannia Mills, off Nelson Street.

Details of the college were announced last year, and this week a planning application for the school has been submitted to Bradford Council, which says the college would have a “mini-university” feel that would provide an “inspiring environment”.

The college will be run by the New Collaborative Learning Trust, which started at New College Pontefract and last year opened New College Doncaster.

It will start with 500 students, and after three years will accommodate 1,200 pupils and around 110 full-time and 30 part-time staff. As well as the five-storey college building, the development will include a new outdoor social space, landscaping and parking for 71 cars and 60 cycles.

There will also be an activity centre with a gym, a four-court sports hall and dance, drama and music studios.

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The application says: “The building footprint is arranged around the college’s tiered atrium space and ‘beating heart’, with key learning spaces off this positioned on the corner of the college at the entrance creating a showcase of learning at the heart of the city.”

It lists the goals of the college, including: “To develop a new sixth form college which can support educational needs of Bradford.

“To reuse a vacant brownfield site in an efficient manner that maximises the site’s use.

“To provide an excellent college facility designed to enable out-of-hours community use to specific areas efficiently.”

A decision on the application is expected in late August.

New College Bradford will be one of two sixth form colleges to open in Bradford next year.

The Dixons academy chain will be opening a college in or near the city centre – although details of its location have yet to be officially announced.

The colleges follow a review of post-16 education in the district that found standards would improve if smaller, in-school sixth forms were closed, and pupils instead attended large sixth form colleges.