logo Sunderland College
  • Information for Parents
  • Term dates
  • Open Events
  • Vacancies
  • Contact us
  • Home
  • Courses
    • School Leaver
      • Vocational Courses
      • A-Levels
      • T Levels
      • Apprenticeships
      • Future Ready
      • Which route is right for you?
      • SEN Local Offer
      • Information for Parents
    • Courses for adults
      • Access to Higher Education
        • How to fund your study
          • How to apply
          • Repaying the loan
          • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Professional qualifications
      • Skills & qualifications
      • Skills for Employment
      • Distance learning
      • Essential Skills
      • Learn for fun
    • Higher Education
      • Benefits of higher education
      • Higher education qualifications explained
      • Choosing your subject & course
      • How to fund your study
      • Events
    • ESOL
    • Institute of Technology
  • Apprenticeships
    • Apprenticeship vacancies
    • Information for employers
  • Experience
    • Meet our students
    • Sports Academies
    • Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme
    • Skills competitions
      • Events
    • Our facilities
    • Expert & friendly support
      • Student Finance
    • AccessAble guides
  • Employers
  • The college
    • Our Sixth Form
      • Sixth Form Subjects
      • Student First
    • Our people
    • Our Campuses
    • Our partners
    • School Engagement
    • Student Union
    • News
   
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Sunderland College welcomes city’s plans for major film studio
  • Home
  • Courses
    • School Leaver
      • Vocational Courses
      • A-Levels
      • T Levels
      • Apprenticeships
      • Future Ready
      • Which route is right for you?
      • SEN Local Offer
      • Information for Parents
    • Courses for adults
      • Access to Higher Education
        • How to fund your study
          • How to apply
          • Repaying the loan
          • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Professional qualifications
      • Skills & qualifications
      • Skills for Employment
      • Distance learning
      • Essential Skills
      • Learn for fun
    • Higher Education
      • Benefits of higher education
      • Higher education qualifications explained
      • Choosing your subject & course
      • How to fund your study
      • Events
    • ESOL
    • Institute of Technology
  • Apprenticeships
    • Apprenticeship vacancies
    • Information for employers
  • Experience
    • Meet our students
    • Sports Academies
    • Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme
    • Skills competitions
      • Events
    • Our facilities
    • Expert & friendly support
      • Student Finance
    • AccessAble guides
  • Employers
  • The college
    • Our Sixth Form
      • Sixth Form Subjects
      • Student First
    • Our people
    • Our Campuses
    • Our partners
    • School Engagement
    • Student Union
    • News
  • Information for Parents
  • Term dates
  • Open Events
  • Vacancies
  • Contact us
Sunderland College Logo An artists impression of what the new Crown Works Film Studio on the banks of the River Wear in Sunderland will look like.

Sunderland College welcomes city’s plans for major film studio

T Level in Media Broadcast and Production

Do you dream of one day working in film, TV, radio, news broadcasting or as a content creator? If so, our new and exciting T Level in Media, Broadcast and Production could be for you. The course will give you a competitive edge within the media industry.

Read more

Sunderland College has welcomed news of the exciting plans to build a major TV and film complex on the banks of the River Wear. 

FulwellCain Studios, a joint venture between global entertainment company Fulwell 73 and Cain International, has announced plans for Crown Works in Sunderland which will transform the city’s economy and create more than 8,000 jobs across the North East over the next decade. 

The development – which requires support from Government to go ahead – will be built in Pallion, an area of Sunderland which played a critical role throughout the industrial revolution, when the city was a shipbuilding powerhouse. 

Subject to planning processes, Crown Works Studios will cover an area of 1.68m sq ft, with 20 premium sound stages suitable for major feature film and HETV productions, making it one of the largest filmmaking complexes in Europe. 

The development will complement outstanding facilities at the University of Sunderland’s St Peter’s Campus as well as a new state-of-the-art media hub at Bede Campus which will expand the Sunderland College’s T Level provision into media, broadcast and TV and radio production.  

Supported by the T Level Capital Fund, the investment will include new filming, editing and production workshops, designed to look and feel like the working environments students would expect to encounter during their placements. 

Ellen Thinnesen, Chief Executive of Education Partnership North East, of which Sunderland College is a part, said: “This is fantastic news for the city which will position Sunderland as a leader in the film, TV, broadcast and creative industries. 

“The potential of the sector in the city and wider region is enormous. The development of new industry-standard facilities at Bede Campus and launch of our T Level provision aligns our skills strategy with city-wide developments such as Crown Works Studios and Shipyard Studios which will create a hotbed for broadcast, content creating and film making talent who will have substantial opportunities to forge careers in the North East.” 

The plans for Crown Works Studios are being described by city leaders as ‘the single most significant development announcement to come out of the north-east in decades’ and will build on Fulwell 73’s existing presence in the city. The scheme will be delivered in three phases, with work set to start in 2023 and the final phase set to complete by 2027. 

Leo Pearlman, managing partner at Fulwell 73, which is known for Netflix hit Sunderland ‘Til I Die as well as The Late Late Show with James Corden, said: “Fulwell is a company built on family and the north-east is embedded in our DNA.  For over 100 years my family had a business here in Sunderland and called this great city home, so to be able to bring Fulwell back to where the inspiration for our global entertainment company began is a truly humbling experience.

“Through delivering the studios, we will create a long-term production industry infrastructure, attract even more significant high-end production to the UK and ensure that future generations of north east talent can develop and prosper at home within the region.”  

The project is supported by Sunderland City Council, which has brought together a number of key partners to work with the investors to shape plans including around the development of the skills-base needed to support the scheme.  

Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “These are absolutely unparalleled proposals that – if approved – will reinvent the Sunderland economy, establishing the city as home to a modern and growing industry that will create jobs and opportunities for thousands of people across the north east.  

“This is a vote of confidence for the city and its people – recognising Sunderland’s history of innovation and of making things.  We have been working on these plans with Fulwell 73 and Cain for many months, so it’s absolutely brilliant to finally be in position to unveil them, and to demonstrate the scale of ambition we have for this city.  It’s absolutely transformational and something we’re determined to see through.” 

College updates

View all updates
  • College group appoints successful business owner as vice chair

    Successful Sunderland business owner Louise Bradford has been appointed as one of two new vice chairs at the region’s largest college group.

    March 21, 2023

    Read more
  • Students unite to take on 2,023-mile BRIT challenge

    Hundreds of students from across regional college group Education Partnership North East will unite to take on an inspirational challenge

    February 23, 2023

    Read more
  • Young Asian Voices honoured by Sunderland College

    Young Asian Voices (YAV) Sunderland has received a special Recognition Award for their ‘Positive Impact in the Community’ at an inspiring VIP even...

    December 16, 2022

    Read more

98% of our students progress to a positive destination

(*Destination data for Sunderland College students aged 16-18, academic year 2017/18).

Why choose Sunderland College?

Our achievement rates are well above the national average.

We are the College of the Year.

(*Top college nationally for BTECs, Pearson 2019)

100% of our HND and HNC students progressed to employment or further study. 

(*Destination data, academic year 2016/17, HNC 19+)

We have recently invested £50 million in our facilities. 

Our courses Our facilities
Sunderland College Sunderland College Logo Sunderland College Logo Dark

Bede Campus, City Campus, Washington Campus

Got a question? Click here

  • 0300 770 8000
  • Courses
  • Experience
  • The college
  • Apprenticeships
  • Employers
  • Governance
  • Vacancies
  • Staff Email
  • Student Email
  • Cookie Information
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy and legal information
  • Complaints Procedure

© 2023 Sunderland College

Facebook Twitter