Harrogate College is asking former students, staff and anyone with memories of its current Hornbeam Park campus to help mark the end of an era before the building is demolished next year.
The college has been based at the site for 41 years, but is now preparing to move into a new £22m building on the same site, with upgraded teaching and training facilities.
As part of the farewell, an End of an Era event will be held at the college on Thursday 3 December, from 5pm to 7pm.
Visitors will be able to tour the current building, share memories and look through photographs, displays and videos from the college’s past. Canapés will also be provided by the college’s Hospitality students.
Danny Wild, Principal of Harrogate College, said:
We’ve been operating from this building for 41 years and it has played a major role in the lives of many people and businesses across the region.
As we prepare to begin a new chapter, we want to take the opportunity to pay tribute to our existing base and the memories made here.
One of the displays will feature a film about the history of the main college building, created by Harrogate College alumnus Reece Longden as part of his MA Creative Practice at University Centre Leeds.
Have you got a Harrogate College memory?
The college is particularly keen to hear from former students, teachers and others who have been involved with the college over the years.
Anyone with photographs, videos, memorabilia or other items they would like to display is being asked to bring them along or send them to the college by 30 October.
Places for the End of an Era event can be booked through Eventbrite.
A new £22m campus
The farewell comes as work continues on Harrogate College’s new facilities, which have been supported by £20m of funding from the Department for Education.
The new campus will include a teaching block, digital technology suite, replica hospital ward, electric vehicle workshop and a standalone Clean Energy Centre.
The college says the facilities have been designed to provide specialist training and support skills identified as priorities for North Yorkshire.
Teaching from the new facilities is due to begin on Monday 4 January 2027, with demolition of the existing building expected to begin the same week.
For former students and staff, the December event will provide one of the last opportunities to walk through the building and revisit a place that has been part of Harrogate’s education landscape for more than four decades.