In what will be a major transformational opportunity for the College, the Borough of Melton, and Leicestershire County as a whole, SMB College Group’s Brooksby Campus is set to benefit from an investment of £18 million from the Department for Education for an exciting development project, including a brand new Agri-tech centre!
With initial building works commencing in the next few weeks, these developments will see the creation of a state-of-the-art Agri-tech centre 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 on offer at the college’s specialist land-based campus, including Agriculture and Farming, Countryside and Environmental Management, Land-based Engineering, Equine, Horticulture and more.
With a brand new T-Level programme in Agriculture, Land Management and Production also launching at Brooksby from September 2025, this is a very exciting time SMB College Group’s land-based students.
Dawn Whitemore, Principal and CEO of SMB College Group said of the new development: ‘This is a truly transformational project for our Brooksby Campus, and we are incredibly pleased to announce the beginning of construction works for our brand new Agri-tech Centre. We have a rich heritage of delivering Agricultural training for many generations and are very proud of our commitment to offering innovative, forward-thinking qualifications and facilities to train the workforce of the future.
‘We’d like to extend our thanks to everyone who has been involved throughout the initial planning phases of this project, and we are excited to keep the community updated going forward as the project progresses. The support that college has received so far from the teams at the Department for Education and Gleeds has been exceptional, along with Tilbury Douglas who have secured the contract.’
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 trees planted across the 850-acre Brooksby estate.
As one of only 36 specialist LANDEX colleges in the country, SMB College Group’s Brooksby Campus has trained thousands of Agricultural, Environmental and Land-based practitioners over many generations. The college is extremely proud to have such a strong heritage of supporting the country’s farmers and environmental stewards, and looks forward to an exciting future at the forefront of this valuable, dynamic and ever-changing industry.
Current land-based facilities at the college’s 850-acre Brooksby Campus include a working commercial arable and livestock farm with its own flock of sheep, herd of cows, and hundreds of acres of arable land. Facilities also include state-of-the-art glasshouses and several acres of stunning formal gardens, a range of purpose-built land-based workshops, and a renowned Equestrian Centre equipped with indoor and outdoor riding facilities, an Aqua treadmill, mechanical horse, solarium and weigh bridge.
There’s still time to apply for SMB College Group’s land-based programmes starting this September! Apply today or book to visit a Brooksby Campus Open Day at www.smbcollegegroup.ac.uk.