Gateway Plaza Gets Top Marks From Barnsley College
A group of Construction and Built Environment students from Barnsley College who toured the town’s Gateway Plaza development during its construction are among hundreds of students from the college who are visiting the project this month after the developers offered the 8th floor of their newly completed office building as examination space for the college.
Due to the ongoing Barnsley College new build project, the traditional exam facility was being utilised for other purposes and the college needed a large external facility in which the predominantly 16-18 year old A Level students could sit their January exams. Local developer Quest Property ,along with joint development partner Landmark Development Projects, stepped in and opened the doors of its 8th floor office space to accommodate the students taking their exams in January.
This latest joint venture continues Gateway Plaza’s ongoing relationship with Barnsley College. During construction of the mixed-use development in 2008, students from the Construction and Built Environment courses undertook tours of the project to learn the complexities of large-scale development and to see the practical application of the theory they were learning throughout their education. The same students have returned to the completed office building to sit their exams and put the knowledge gained to the test.
Development Manager for Quest Property, Matthew Stephens, said; ”When we learned that Barnsley College required the use of an external facility, we were delighted to offer the usage of our No#1 Gateway Plaza office building. As a local developer we are keen to support the town wherever we can and this latest venture continues our long-standing relationship with the college. Due to the keen interest in the office accommodation at Gateway Plaza, this could be our only opportunity to offer the space out for usage so we were happy to capitalise on that and assist the college. It was great to know that the very same students who came to learn about construction at Gateway Plaza are returning to sit their exams. We wish all the students the best of luck.”
A Barnsley College spokesperson said; “We considered a number of venues for the exams, however Gateway Plaza’s large, open plan space and central location perfectly suited our requirements. Work with the new build project is progressing well and we appreciate the Gateway Plaza team for their assistance in this transitional period.”