New era for UCEN Manchester dawns as construction of City Campus Manchester completed

With construction works now complete UCEN Manchester prepare to open brand-new City Campus Manchester this September. 

Construction work on UCEN Manchester’s brand-new state-of-the-art facility – City Campus Manchester – has been completed ahead of the campus opening its doors to students this September. 

City Campus Manchester, the centre piece of the higher education's project to significantly invest in its campuses across the city to provide industry standard facilities, is the culmination of one of the largest co-created and co-funded projects that the post-16 education sector has ever seen, turning the old Boddingtons’ Brewery site into a fantastic state-of-the-art campus that will support 1m Mancunians over its lifetime. 

The four-storey campus will offer a range of facilities that will create an exceptional student experience and will be home to UCEN Manchester’s School of Computing and Cyber-Security, The Manchester Film School and The Arden School of Theatre and the School of Art, Media and Make-up.  

It will also be home to The Manchester College’s Industry Excellence Academies for Hospitality and Catering, Creative and Digital Media, Music, Computing and Digital as well as their Centres of Excellence for Visual Arts and Performing Arts.

Situated next door to the AO Arena, the city centre campus will provide students of all ages with industry-standard facilities including TV, radio, and sound studios, professional art and photography studios, as well as a 40-seat restaurant run by students in the Industry Excellence Academy for Hospitality and Catering and all the latest software and state-of-the-art technology for cyber-security, 3D modelling, design and development. 

Lisa O’Loughlin, Principal of UCEN Manchester and The Manchester College, commented: “I am delighted that we have reached this extremely exciting milestone in the project which has been five years in the making to provide our students with industry standard facilities for generations to come. 

City Campus Manchester will not only provide exceptional technical education facilities for learners across Greater Manchester, giving students the perfect environment to gain the skills that they will need for a rewarding career but will also act as a beacon for the power of education and the opportunities it provides in the heart of the city. 

“We now can’t wait to open the doors to students this September and start working with them to achieve their aspirational goals in the amazing facilities that City Campus Manchester has to offer.” 

Collaboratively designed by award-winning architects Bond Bryan and SimpsonHaugh, the campus features some breath-taking spaces including the memorising main theatre as the eye-catching focal point, projecting a golden glow on the buildings main atrium which is at the heart of the campus. 

Its design also incorporates sustainability features that will reduce carbon emissions and help the College take important steps in addressing climate change challenges now. 

With construction works now complete, UCEN Manchester will spend the rest of the summer preparing the campus so it is ready for teaching to commence in September.