[gallery ids="1754,1753,1752,1751,1750"] Students from all over the region got a taste of what’s on offer at the new higher education centre, appropriately situated at the very top of the revamped £13m nine-storey building at the College of West Anglia. More and more students are now selecting the college to study for degrees instead of opting to travel to universities miles away. And while principal David Pomfret led the praise for the HE centre, it was students themselves who were quick to give the college glowing tributes. More than 100 of them, both those returning to complete courses and others starting off on the road for the first time to gain degrees, attended an informal gathering in the higher education and Skyline conference centres. Mr Pomfret spoke about how highly the college valued its partnership with Anglia Ruskin University. He said: “We have an exclusive relationship with ARU. Higher Education has a huge future at the College of West Anglia.” Ofsted had rated its provision as good and ARU recognised its strong practice. The college’s Mark Reavell, executive director partnersips, said that when the college was told more than two years ago to vacate the 'tower block', students were involved in saying what was needed in the building revamp, leading to the HE and conference centres, full Wi-Fi provision and a large shared social space. Students have received what they asked for. Ashley Jarman, 19, a former Springwood student, and Matthew Keeley-Smith, from King's Lynn Academy, said CWA felt professional and they were saving money by studying for their degrees while being able to stay in the area. One person really feeling the benefit was Matthew Hawood, from West Walton, who attended an open day back in the spring planning to do a college course. But instead he was attracted by the chance to study for a degree in computer science, being able to continue to enjoy home comforts and education at the same time. The open day was arranged by Hilary Fisher, the University Centre’s HE Manager. The college has more than 100 full-time degree students across its campuses in King’s Lynn, Wisbech and Cambridge with around 40 lecturers delivering a variety of subjects including computer science, business management, equine, veterinary nursing, animal behaviour, English/history, history/sociology and sociology/English. Many students also study part time particularly in engineering and construction programmes, With the attraction of being able to save money and stay at home, more and more young people are opting to complete degree education with the College of West Anglia.