LECTURERS at Cirencester College are over the moon after scooping a top education award and £400,000 investment.

The Academy of Finance was only established 18 months ago but has now been made a Centre of Vocational Excellence by the Learning and Skills Council.

And the LSC money will be pumped into developing new state-of-the-art training facilities at the Castle in Cecily Hill.

Vice-principal Desna McAll said: "We are absolutely delighted - it's really nice to have this level of investment and recognition for what we are doing.

"We are planning quite a lot of development and the money will go towards online workshops, new staff and further liaison with employers."

The main ethos of the academy is to bridge the gap between the finance industry and the education of the next generation of its employees.

The programme selects young students who want to train for a career in finance or financial services and pays close attention to changes in the industry.

Executive director of Gloucestershire LSC Roger Crouch said: "Financial services are a critically important part of the local economy and we really do want COVES to reflect the real needs of the economy.

"Finance is potentially a really important growth industry and I am sure that at Cirencester College the COVE is going to attract more learners."

What makes the academy particularly unique is that it offers students a six-week paid internship between year one and year two of the programme.

They also have access to a range of business seminars, conferences and visits, including a trip to Canary Wharf in London.

Teacher David Johnson said: "It's a new programme altogether that has been brought across from London and the United States originally.

"It has been excellent so far and the internships are a really good opportunity to work in a real environment."

Trina Sheridan, who has 13 years experience of working within the financial services industry, has been appointed the COVE manager.

She said: "I am looking forward to developing an industry standard training resource for the region at Cirencester College."

For more information about the Academy of Finance call 01285 640994.