A new £30 million education facility has been opened at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria.

Campus Whitehaven houses St Benedict's Roman Catholic Secondary School and Mayfield Special School.

HRH Princess Anne was on hand to officially open the site after touring the facilities and meeting staff, students, governors, and local stakeholders.

Gillian Temple, Mayfield School headteacher, said: "We were delighted and honoured to have opportunity to showcase our wonderful new facilities.

-- Advertisement --

"Her Royal Highness enjoyed seeing our fantastic new learning environment along with the commitment and dedication of all our students and staff."

Construction work finished last year and lessons began in the building in January.

Sellafield Ltd led the project as part of its commitment to the safe and secure operation of the nuclear site.

Jamie Reed, Sellafield Ltd head of corporate affairs, added: "This is our largest single social impact investment. I think it will prove to be one of the best decisions we ever made.

"Campus Whitehaven is a world class learning environment and a real statement of the confidence we have in the future of our community."

The company invested an original £10m from its social impact budget to get the project off the ground. Further funding was provided by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Copeland Community Fund, and Cumbria County Council.

(CM/JG)