Private sixth-form college prepares to open in Waterloo

DLD College London – currently located in Marylebone and Belgravia – will start the new academic year on 3 September in its purpose-built new building at the corner of Westminster Bridge Road and Lambeth Palace Road, opposite St Thomas' Hospital.

Designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, the horseshoe-shaped building was approved by Lambeth councillors two years ago despite criticism from English Heritage who described it as an "alien form".

Prime minister David Cameron visited the construction site last year.

DLD College will occupy the basement, ground, mezzanine first and second floors of the block. Facilities include six laboratories, a creative arts and media faculty featuring art rooms, photography, drama, music and media suites, including a 100 plus seat theatre, almost 40 tutorial rooms and an open plan library, study and ICT facilities.

From September the will be offering 34 A-Level subjects, a range of GCSE subjects and three BTEC pathways. A-level tuition costs £19,000 a year for domestic students and £24,000 a year for those from outside the European Economic Area.

Bursar Alec Thorp said: "It is so exciting to see the college coming together, it truly is a masterpiece with an unrivalled learning environment for the students.

"I am so proud to have been given the opportunity to be a part of this stunning creation. I will be able to walk past here with my grandchildren one day and tell them that I played a part in the construction of that beautiful landmark."

Principal of the college Rachel Borland said: "Alec has been highly instrumental in developing the new building and it looks incredible. Everyone at DLD College London is so excited to start the new term in this monumental building.

"It couldn't be more perfect in encompassing everything that we are about and the design, layout and facilities are essential for providing the ultimate educational experience for our students."

The college will share the building with Urbanest who are providing 1,100 rooms of student accommodation, including 215 rooms just for DLD pupils.

DLD students will pay up to £19,000 a year for catered accommodation in the boarding house – meaning that an overseas student studying for A-levels could be charged up to £43,000 a year.

For university students, Urbanest's self-catering fees at Westminster Bridge range from £9,000 to £16,000 a year.

Open to students of any London university, Urbanest has a particular link with the London School of Economics who will provide pastoral support for their students living at the Westminster Bridge accommodation.