A LEADING maritime academy has moved to Southampton.

Southampton Solent University will open a new multi-million campus for cadets in St Mary’s in Southampton on Monday.

The St Mary’s campus will be home to sea officer cadets along with first certification teaching provision students who have been relocated from Warsash.

The new campus will boast a number of facilities including brand new engineering workshops, a welding area and electrical and control laboratories for officer cadets.

Meanwhile, the university’s David Moxon and Emily Davies halls of residence will become solely for the cadets’ use with new single study bedrooms and self-catering facilities.

Vice chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin (pictured) said: “This relocation will enhance an already outstanding student experience, offer value for money and sustainability, and maximize industry engagement and prospects.”

Syamantak Bhattacharya, director of the Warsash School of Maritime, Science, and Engineering at Solent, added: ““Warsash has become world-renowned for providing a cadetship program and a number of professional short courses for over 70 years.

“The new premises will provide officer cadets with a distinct modern teaching environment, exclusively for seafarers studying for their officer of the watch certificate of competency.”

The new campus is part of a £6m investment by the university to move teaching from the upper site at Warsash to Southampton by September 2019.