Or for South Essex College, to be precise the future is September 2014...as that is when they will be opening their new £45 million Thurrock Campus in Grays town centre.
It means that any student applying to study at the Thurrock Campus of the College will be amongst the first to take advantage of the new facilities and purpose built teaching areas, so it has been no surprise to see people already coming to open days getting excited about the prospect of being the first year of students to move into a new home.
That state-of-the-art new home will include restaurants, health facilities and an advice centre.There will also be large specialist workshop and studio spaces linked to courses for technology, media and creative arts, and facilities for art, design, logistics, engineering and IT courses.The nearest bus and train station is a two minute walk from the campus with direct routes to London and Southend.
A series of informal talks were held recently, entitled 'The future's bright, the future's Grays', about the forthcoming new build especially for local residents, local businesses, people who work at the council, parents and prospective students.
The talks took place, rather fittingly, at the offices of Thurrock Council which is tantalisingly situated opposite the new building. They were hosted by Anthony McGarel, the Deputy Chief Executive of the College, who gave a detailed background to the project and a floor by floor look and break down of exactly what it will be offering students giving those at the talk the most vivid account yet of what it will be like to set foot inside the new Thurrock Campus.
Anthony, said: “The new Thurrock Campus will be offering vocational qualifications to help our young people get a job in industry. We offer courses - such as BTEC, VTCT and City & Guilds - from level 1 to 3. Their GCSE grades will determine which level they enter the courses.
“Young people can also choose to do a pre-apprenticeship at the new Thurrock Campus. This course is brilliant preparation for an apprenticeship and will teach them the skills to perform well at an interview with an employer, as well as how to study and manage their time.
“Our engineering courses include welding, a skill that businesses across the world are asking for. In fact, many people in Essex are flying up to oil rigs in Scotland each week where they start on salaries of £40,000 a year.
“Our production arts courses are also being delivered at the Backstage Centre, part of the High House Production Park in Purfleet. Planning has also been approved for a new costume shop at the park, with the College linking with the Royal Opera House. We hope to offer degree courses in that specialised area over the next two years.”
South Essex College also hope to announce more courses at the new campus soon, including sustainable building which will teach students to build roofing systems and wooden framed housing.
The new Thurrock Campus won’t just be about young people though as it will also offer courses for adults on a part-time basis, usually one evening or one day per week.
The countdown to September 2014 has truly begun...