A major turn-around of a once struggling college in Plumstead is nearly complete after a £10m City Hall handout to improve facilities.

For 15 years, Greenwich Community College was on a “downward spiral” before a merger into the London South East College Groups in 2016.

The college in Plumstead has been told this week that Sadiq Khan will be giving it £10m for its digital village project.

The Mayor has handed out cash in a £56m boost to improve education facilities across the capital.

The grant will see a new vocational training centre at the College’s Greenwich Campus and will help deliver the last stage of the Mayor’s Construction Academy scheme.

The cash will be matched by the college’s own funds, to enable the construction of a new £24 million campus.

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Principal and CEO of London South East Colleges, Sam Parrett OBE, said the cash secured the college’s future in the heart of Plumstead, playing down fears it could move facilities to the Peninsula.

“We’ve been on an almost three-year journey to turn around the finances and the quality of the college,” she told the LDR service.

“It has all come together in the last month or so. The college is putting in £15m and the Greater London Authority is putting in £10m to create this digital village.

“The learner numbers are growing – the college is on a much stronger financial footing because we have turned the quality around.

“We have aligned the college to the local authority and support the work they are doing to create a new cultural quarter. We will be supporting that creative agenda. We are absolutely thrilled as it was a very competitive process.

“It is quite important because one of the things we could have done was to move out of Plumstead.

“We think it is really important to stay in Plumstead and stay in the very vibrant area. We didn’t want to move towards the Peninsula or the Maritime Village because we want to be at the heart of the development.”

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The announcement has come in the same week the college has finally been rated as “good” with outstanding features by education watchdog Ofsted.

“This is the first time in history that it has got that grade,” Sam said, “It’s only been since joining this new group it has got this grade.

“It is really important for the college and for the people of Greenwich that the college has improved and finally it has a good commendation.”