Last week marked the official ‘Ground Breaking’ Ceremony for SMB College Group’s £18 million campus development at Brooksby, which will bring some of the very best Agricultural equipment and facilities to Leicestershire.
In attendance at the Ground Breaking ceremony were representatives from Tilbury Douglas and Gleeds, in addition to SMB College Group delegates including Dawn Whitemore (Principal and CEO), Jason Spencer (Assistant Principal for Estates), James Fryer (Director of Land-based and Farm) and Andy Graham (Director of Campus).
Also present were four Level 3 Animal Management students, Amelia, Amelia, Noah and Leah, who were in attendance to represent the college’s Brooksby Campus students.
In what will be a truly transformational opportunity for the College, the Borough of Melton, and Leicestershire County as a whole, this Department for Education funded project will bring a brand new state-of-the-art Agri-tech centre to Brooksby, featuring equipment such as GIS software for field and yield mapping, virtual learning environments, purpose-built labs, drones, and robotics - all of which will benefit students and apprentices studying a range of qualifications at the specialist land-based campus.
There are also additional buildings being built as part of the project, including a new refectory and Student Services area.
Dawn Whitemore, Principal and CEO of SMB College Group said of the new development: ‘I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to watch this project come to fruition. This is a truly transformational project for our Brooksby Campus, and we are incredibly pleased to have the opportunity to remain at the forefront of the Land-based sector with this welcomed investment. It was an honour to officially ‘break the ground’ and I look forward to watching the developments as the building work progresses.’
James Fryer, Director of Farm and Grounds, added ‘This is such an exciting new chapter for our Brooksby Campus. This investment will put us on the Land-based map and will allow us to use state-of-the-art precision farming techniques to educate many future generations of Agriculture and Land-based students.
‘With September 2025 seeing the re-introduction of Level 2 Horticulture and the launch of our brand new T-Level in Agriculture, Land Management and Production, it is a very exciting time to become an SMB College Group land-based student!’
This transformation project also comes in the wake of a series of pioneering sustainability projects already underway at the college’s Brooksby Campus, which have been spearheaded by the Land-based Industries Teaching team and their students in recent years. These exciting and impactful sustainability projects, which are still ongoing, include a regenerative agriculture/agroforestry project, the restoration of the River Wreake, and a tree planting scheme which has seen hundreds of tree planted across the 850-acre Brooksby estate.
We still have spaces on our land-based programmes starting this September! Apply today or book your place on a Brooksby Campus Open Day to find out more.