Exeter College has announced this week that it has purchased the National House building in Queen Street and will open it at the start of the new term in September with future plans to create a dedicated Computing, Maths and Science Centre for the college's students.

Principal Richard Atkins said “I am delighted that the College has successfully negotiated the purchase of National House, which will become an important addition to the College's facilities.”

“This acquisition was fully supported by the College's Board of Governors and forms part of our long term property strategy. During the summer break work will be carried out to enable us to temporarily accommodate a small number of courses in National House in the new academic year.”

“Longer term plans are being finalised and the aim is to refurbish the whole building in 2014/15 to create a dedicated Computing, Maths and Science Centre, which will provide an excellent learning environment for these key subject areas that are so important to the future education of our community and the local and national economies.”

“The new Centre will be ideally located to complement the College's existing city centre sites and will enable us to deliver innovative education to the Computing, Maths and Science students who choose to come to Exeter College from across the South West. The College has begun consultations with local residents' associations who have welcomed the news and expressed their support of our plans to develop the building, which has been vacant for a number of years.”

The news of the purchase is in addition to the announcement earlier in the year that the college, in partnership with the University of Exeter, has been asked by the Government to develop a specialist Maths School in the city, only the second of its type in the country, that will provide a regional centre of excellence preparing students for rigorous degrees and combining the mathematical expertise of university academics and the curricular and pastoral support of the college.