Chichester College’s STEM building and HE
Sector: Further Education
Framework: SCAPE Construction framework
Client: Chichester College Group
Location: Chichester, West Sussex
Value: £26.4m
Completion: 2025
“As the construction partner for this state-of-the-art learning hub, we're proud that we have been able to play a key role in the delivery of a facility that will significantly enhance STEM and Higher Education opportunities at Chichester College. This project was not only about creating modern and interactive spaces for learning but also it was about ensuring that sustainability was at the core of the build, underpinning the future-focused vision of the college. This outcome is a prime example of how construction can support educational excellence and community growth."
Richard Poulter
Managing Director of Willmott Dixon’s central south office
A new, cutting-edge Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and Higher Education (HE) learning facility, featuring workshops, laboratories and a lecture theatre, has been created for students in West Sussex.
Chichester College, part of the Chichester College Group, offer a wide range of further and higher education courses including A-Levels, T-Levels, vocational qualifications, apprenticeships and adult education.
Completed in August 2025 ready for the 2025/26 academic year, Willmott Dixon has delivered a new four-storey learning hub for the college through the SCAPE Construction Framework. This multi-million-pound investment, delivered as part of a wider departmental improvement plan, brings together the college’s science, technology, engineering, maths and higher education facilities in a purpose-built facility where modern technology is central to teaching and learning.
The project needed to bring the college’s science, technology, engineering, maths and higher education facilities into a single hub at the heart of the campus, replacing outdated and dispersed facilities that no longer met curriculum needs or supported students effectively. The new building would serve STEM and higher education students and staff, as well as local industry partners such as Rolls Royce Motor Cars, whose apprenticeship programme shaped specialist requirements.
Key project objectives included consolidating curriculum areas, creating a distinctive and attractive identity for the college, and ensuring spaces could adapt to future industry and teaching needs with flexible layouts and reconfigurable rooms. It was designed to support employer partnerships, including wider workshop access for Rolls Royce vehicles. Evolving funding allowed STEM and HE provision to be combined, with sustainability prioritised through high insulation, airtightness, low‑carbon systems and planned photovoltaic panels.
The STEM building project faced several obstacles that shaped its delivery. Environmentally, the riverside location required permits from the Environment Agency and protective measures such as drain filters to prevent silt contamination, earning a 9/10 rating for environmental management.
Funding complexity also posed challenges, as the project combined Department for Education funding for STEM with separate investment for higher education. Working on a live campus required weekly coordination with stakeholders and collaboration with the college’s supply chain, including supporting another delayed contractor. Strong communication, flexible design adaptations and close supply‑chain collaboration enabled successful delivery, achieving 9/10 Quality and Net Promoter scores.
The STEM and HE building was delivered ahead of schedule and on budget, successfully meeting and exceeding project objectives. Completed four weeks early, the scheme-maintained cost certainty during a volatile market through careful planning.
The state-of-the-art building embeds curriculum needs through flexible teaching spaces shaped by departmental input. Its eye-catching design, inspired by Rolls Royce’s factory, creates a strong identity while supporting industry partnerships and including specialist automotive workshops where students can learn sustainable transport skills, such as electric vehicle maintenance. By relocating previously off‑site facilities to the main campus, students gain better support.
Designed to principles equivalent to BREEAM Very Good, the college delivers major whole‑life carbon reductions through a fabric‑first design, electric arc furnace steel and low‑carbon systems. High insulation, airtightness, triple glazing and photovoltaics create exceptional energy performance, while flexible, low‑carbon spaces enhance longevity.
Customer satisfaction was exceptionally high, achieving nine out of ten for both quality and net promoter score once construction began.
Why SCAPE Scotland?
The SCAPE Construction Framework enabled strong collaboration with supply chain partners. Its partnership‑focused approach was particularly valuable, building on an existing relationship with Chichester College Group and helping resolve challenges efficiently.
SCAPE also enabled rapid mobilisation, including redeploying resources from a recently completed project, giving the Department for Education confidence that ring‑fenced funding would be utilised within required deadlines. The framework supported a design‑first approach that provided cost and programme certainty during high market volatility when materials such as windows, lifts and roofing were experiencing price increases of up to nine per cent. The project achieved high customer satisfaction, with 9/10 Quality and Net Promoter scores.
£3,547,342.88
Social Value generated
238
training weeks completed, including 3 T-Level placements
6,209
trees planted
£500
donated to STARS and £100 donated to Royal Sussex regimental association
420
hours of community support
In collaboration with:
Meet the lead:
Vanessa Good
Business Development Manager | South East
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