Langside College is celebrating 60 years of learning by building a new college.

At a partnership event last month, Principal Graeme Hyslop said, ‘We’ve survived because we have developed and delivered a quality product. It is difficult to go anywhere without meeting former students of Langside. They have a wonderful feeling for the College and never tire of coming back to visit the place.’

Depute Principal Bob Paterson is project manager of the new campus. He told the audience of partners from the diverse bodies the College works with, ‘In the next two or three years there will be a brand new building at Langside. There will be a public realm area on Battlefield Road to make us a key part of the local community physically as well as spiritually. This will give us visibility and will be a significant improvement. Vehicular access will remain at the Prospecthill Road entrance.’

The modern, efficient infrastructure will be environmentally friendly and create a 21st century learning environment with many shared facilities for community use and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The College expects to be sending out invitations to the opening of the new building in the year 2010. Until then, bit by bit, the new centre of learning will be constructed and the College emphasised it is working closely with all its neighbours to minimise disruption in the process.

Guests at the information event were able to see and experience for themselves examples of the work of current students. A pacy and powerful performance of the Threepenny Opera was given by drama students and directed by David Lee-Michael. Drawings, paintings and other works by Art and Design NQ students were displayed in the upper foyer and beginning to show the little red ‘sold’ dots. And floral art, beauty, health and other disciplines were well represented elsewhere with the Litehouse flexible learning centre students strutting their stuff in their own building.