BARROW'S first university campus has received the royal seal of approval.

Her Royal Highness Princess Anne visited the dockside site where the university’s campus is to be constructed, adjacent to BAE Systems' Submarine Academy for Skills and Knowledge (SASK) on Barrow Island. 

She learned more about how the campus forms part of the Barrow Learning Quarter – one of seven projects in the ambitious #BrilliantBarrow scheme – followed by her ‘breaking ground’ on the construction site, using a shovel that was produced for the occasion by a team of BAE Systems employees.  

The royal arrived at around 11am on Wednesday and shook the hands of Sea Cadets and then went inside for a tour around the workshop. Half an hour later, she crossed the road to the new University of Cumbria Campus, which is set to open next year. 

She was handed a shovel built by 17-year-old BAE apprentice Kian Woodburn and shovelled some soil after making a quick joke about how she normally digs holes in the soil to plant trees. Kian and his mentor Keith Bagnell spent eight hours making the shovel. 

She received a warm round of applause from the BAE and University of Cumbria representatives who came out to see her.

Her visit marks a milestone in the partnership between the defence contractor and the university.

University of Cumbria vice-chancellor professor Julie Mennell said the day would have an impact for 'decades or centuries' in Barrow by offering more education opportunities for future engineers at its first university campus. 

It represents the Brilliant Barrow largest project with £25m funding from the Government's towns fund. 

Apprentice sheet metal worker Kian said: "It's something you'll never forget, it's not every day you get to meet royalty, is it? She was lovely to speak to, she wasn't someone I thought I couldn't speak to. She was asking me about the forming of the spade." 

Keith, 58, said: "It was a memory for the rest of your life, it's a privilege. She was very, very nice - very jovial. What a lovely experience, you'll always remember it." 

Professor Mennell spoke about the future campus in Barrow after meeting Princess Anne, saying that the royal had 'done her research' on the project. 

"It's really important that we have a university campus here in Barrow - we have lower levels of university participation [in the town], we've got very significant gaps in terms of higher level skills and we've got lots and lots of jobs," she said.

"What we need to do is to ensure we can equip our young people with the education and skills to be able to prosper, and also importantly because we've got a declining working age population here in Cumbria, to attract more people."

This autumn, BAE Systems was awarded £3.95 billion from the Ministry of Defence to embark on the next phase of the UK’s next-generation Royal Navy submarine programme, known as SSN-AUKUS. 

The funding covers development work to 2028, enabling BAE Systems to move into the detailed design phase of the programme. The award will also fund significant investment in the Barrow shipyard, investment in the supply chain, and recruitment of more than 5,000 people. 

Developing a full university presence in Barrow will help attract and retain talented graduates to meet this and other skills needs of the area.  

Steve Timms, managing director of BAE Systems Submarines, said: "It is a privilege to welcome Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to our Submarines site to mark the beginning of work on the new University of Cumbria campus and to show her the vital work we do in supporting the Royal Navy.  

"Built alongside our own Submarines Academy for Skills and Knowledge, the new facility will take tertiary education in Barrow and Furness to a new level and we are very proud to be part of this exciting project, especially given the future we now see."