Bowmer & Kirkland to start work on £22m JCB Academy

The Department for Children, Schools and Families has agreed to fund 90% of the £22m JCB Academy with the company providing the remaining 10%.

Having secured funding, Derbyshire-based Bowmer & Kirkland can start work on converting the Grade II-listed Tutbury Mill in Rocester, Staffordshire which was built by Richard Arkwright in 1781 to manufacture cotton.

Once open in September 2010, the JCB Academy will accommodate 540 students aged between 14 and 19 and aims to be a catalyst for improved education in engineering, manufacturing and business.

The Academy will mainly take students from the local region and develop expertise in the new specialised diplomas in engineering, manufacturing and international business. It will not be a training facility for JCB.

Paul Pritchard, head of the JCB Academy Project, said: “This is the culmination of years of hard work to create a long-term platform to regenerate engineering and manufacturing in Britain.”