Sodexo has won an £11.2m contract with Tyne Coast College Group across six sites in North and South Shields.

The eight-year contract will see Sodexo supply a combination of catering and student accommodation services.

This builds on a six year relationship with South Tyneside College, one of the institutions in the newly formed group.

Through the new contract Sodexo will supply three further education college sites, South Tyneside College, South Shields Marine School and Queen Alexandria Campus, which have 15,000 full and part-time students in total, in addition to Ridgeway Primary Academy.

Tyne Coast College offers a diverse and innovative vocationally-driven curriculum, with close links to employers. Offering a broad range of vocational and technical qualifications, as well as A- levels and sports opportunities, the College’s programmes aim to meet the skills needs of the region and support economic growth and prosperity.

Sodexo will invest in new retail and dining facilities and has devised a bespoke food and beverage offer to suit the 12 retail, grab-and-go and refectory outlets across the sites. These offers were developing following focus groups with students at the college in which they expressed their preference for convenience and speed, good value, healthy choices and updated dining environments in which students could eat and socialise.

In addition, Student Living by Sodexo, Sodexo’s student accommodation team, will manage 204 student beds within the Group’s Dr Winterbottom Halls of Residence, providing facilities management as well as student support services.

Finally, Ridgeway Primary Academy will benefit from Sodexo’s new modern school food and dining room offer, ‘Food & Co. by Sodexo’, which deinstitutionalises traditional school dinners and has been developed following research conducted with pupils in key stages 2, 3 and 4 (ages 7-16) to understand the type of food they like, how they like to eat it, as well as their preferred dining environment and experience.

Jonathan Keitch, account director, Sodexo said; “We are delighted to be expanding on this contract and to have the opportunity to support Tyne Coast College Group with broad expertise from across our schools and universities business.”

Helen Beaton, Chief Financial Officer,  Tyne Coast College said; “We were impressed by Sodexo’s approach and the insight work that went into framing our new food outlets and menus, as well as the supporting accommodation services. We are confident that our diverse student population, as well as staff will be wellserved with healthy and nutritious food and great new dining environments in which to relax and meet friends.”

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