University College Isle of Man (UCM) recently hosted an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of its Homefield Road Campus.

The event was attended by the Chief Minister Alfred Cannan, Minister for Education Daphne Caine, Mayor of Douglas Natalie Byron-Teare, alumni, staff and students, and was held exactly 50 years since the opening of the building often referred to as the ‘main college building’ on May 9, 1975.

During the event, guests enjoyed 1970s themed mocktails and canapés created and served by the catering, hospitality and food services students, a short speech from the principal Jesamine Kelly and performances of reimagined 1970s songs by music students.

Guests also enjoyed viewing the ‘Milestone’ exhibition, which featured student artwork, a history of business and computing, a timeline of UCM history since it began as the ‘Douglas School of Art’, and nostalgic memorabilia.

UCM’s principal, Jesamine Kelly, commented: ‘We were delighted to use the anniversary of the official opening of the Homefield Road Campus to mark three important milestones in UCM’s history.

‘It has been 145 years since the founding of the Douglas School of Art, 10 years of the Annie Gill Training Café and 50 years of this campus.

‘So many people in our community are connected to UCM through previous learning or employment, and we really wanted to showcase this in the exhibition and mark this important event.’

During the evening, island businesses and landmarks were also lit up red to mark the milestone.

These buildings included the Legislative Building, Tower of Refuge, Braddan Roundhouse, Barclays, Ramsey Swing Bridge, Stonehage Fleming, buildings in Strand Street and Douglas Promenade, Standard Bank, Utmost, Dohle and Noble’s Hospital.