The Easter holidays were unusually busy for Newbury College after the Monks Lane campus was approached by Carnival Films, the production company responsible for the popular ITV period drama 'Downton Abbey'.
The international phenomenon has famously been filmed at Highclere Castle for the past six years with various local sites used for location shoots, and as the show draws to its concluding series, producers took advantage of Newbury College's extensive campus and on-site facilities to create a temporary 'Unit Base' to house cast and crew during filming in the local area.
Dr Anne Murdoch, Newbury College Principal, said "We have a lot of interest from local businesses and community groups to make use of our campus and we always do our best to accommodate. In the past our sports hall, performance space and other excellent facilities have played host to the England U19 Cricket team, the Queen's Awards and the annual West Berkshire Work and Careers Fair, to name but a few, and we are really excited to be playing a supporting role in this global success."
Staff and students have become accustomed to seeing people in unusual costumes around the site since the reintroduction of the Performing Arts curriculum in September 2014 and The Watermill Theatre's use of the Forum space for Calamity Jane rehearsals last year.
With the introduction of Production Arts, Event Management, Music Technology, and 'A Levels' in Drama and Theatre Studies planned for this September, Newbury College is looking forward to working with even more organisations from the creative arts industry.