South East Essex College (SEEC) in Southend has launched a silver service restaurant as part of its new £52m learning centre, which allows students to gain first hand work experience on site.

Each night the restaurant, called Ora, will transform from its daytime role as a brassiere and meeting space for teachers into a 92-cover restaurant open to the public.

SEEC’s catering students will provide the service at Ora, allowing them to gain experience as part of their course requirements.

SEEC hopes that the restaurant’s location, close to the town centre and the busy high street, will help make Ora a permanent fixture in the town’s evening scene.

As testament of the 164sq m restaurant’s affiliation with the college, it will also exhibit pieces of art created by students at the college’s arts faculty.

Ora is located in CEES’s £52m, 26,100sq m Southend Campus designed by KSS Design.

Funding for the 26,100sq m learning centre, Southend Campus, which forms an integral part of Southend Borough Council’s regeneration plans, was secured from the Learning and Skills Council, The Higher Education Funding Council, The university of Essex, college resources and a bank loan.