A £6.5m educational centre is preparing to open next month.

Derwentside College campus in Consett, has moved from Park Road to a purpose-built facility in Front Street.

It is the first major rebuild and relocation of a college in the North-East and is the second largest project of its kind in Britain.

Yesterday, the 300 staff began the switch from the Park Road site to their new home.

The five-acre development dominates the Berry Edge Road skyline.

College chiefs hope it will become a major training centre for the region. It includes a new centre of engineering enterprise which features laboratories for electronics and engineering, along with a high-tech computer design facility.

The site also contains an art studio, science block, leisure complex with refectory and restaurant, computer suites and a hair and beauty salon.

Its fitness suite and sports facilities will be open to the public and there are 200 car parking spaces.

Bosses say its services will be easy to access for all. The building was designed with the disabled in mind and has lifts to all floors.

It was built by Shepherd Construction for Dysart Developments, the firm in charge of the Project Genesis scheme to redevelop the site of the old steel works.

Funding came from the Government's Further Education Funding Council and the college itself.

The development has been hailed by Derwentside District Council as a boost for the Project Genesis site, which has been criticised in the past for failing to create enough jobs.

Alex Watson, leader of the council, said: "The college has always been an asset to Derwentside and has played a big part in our regeneration strategy.

"It has fulfilled a need for training and education that has been essential in bringing unemployment in the district to an all-time low."

The principal of the college, David Houpt, said he expects the new centre to be a valuable resource for the people of the entire district and beyond.

The campus opens to the public on Saturday, September 7, with a day of family entertainment, including a roadshow provided by local station Metro Radio