First glimpse inside new-look South Staffordshire College Cannock campus building

Bosses at South Staffordshire College say the Cannock base will boast some of the best learning facilities in the country and will become its 'flagship campus'.

Work is due to finish just before Christmas, with the campus welcoming back students in January. The main focal point of the new and improved campus is a glass-roofed atrium at its very heart.

Trudie McGuinness, director of learner journey at the college, said: "This will become the college's flagship campus when all the work is finished. It will be the most advanced learner space in further education in terms of innovation.

"We want the people of Cannock to see it as their college campus as well as the students. Cannock needs this improved campus to bring it forward with the times."

When work is finished, the campus will boast 25 new classrooms and teaching areas, a cafe and numerous offices. There will also be a hair salon for students to learn in and it will be open to the public.

The campus is also set to boast cutting edge technology not seen in any other further education colleges in the country such as touch screen tablets in some open areas.

There will also be projector machines that will display moving images onto classroom walls, such as a working building site for construction students to give them a feel of the profession.

Work on the college's Cannock Campus in The Green started in September last year. Contractors have stripped the historic building down to its shell. The external features of the building have stayed the same, with several small extensions being built.

A new glass-fronted entrance at the campus will be built and a new spiral staircase now leads up from the first floor to the second.

Director of estates and commercial operations at the college, Steve Grant, said: "We stripped the building right down to its shell. That way the building remains the same on the outside but we've been able to transform it inside."