VIDEO AND PICTURES: As Norton College disappears to £35m shopping complex, take a nostalgic look back at where thousands studied

But before the Sheffield institution where thousands studied is lost for good to the likes of Aldi and Marks and Spencer, which will form part of the new St James Retail Park, we've delved into our archives to see where generations of students prepared for life in the outside world.

The Dyche Lane campus has lain empty since the summer of 2015, when Norton closed its doors for the last time.

On its final demise, the once bustling corridors were empty, the busy classrooms were piled high with boxes and the noisy canteen deserted.

It closed as part of a £15.6 million upgrade of facilities at The Sheffield College and the boxes, desks and equipment were moved into a new £8.8m Sheffield College Centre for Creative Industries, at Hillsborough.

The centre, which specialised in digital, media, graphic design, journalism, music, performing arts and photography was one of Sheffield College's oldest sites, with some parts dating back to the 1950s.

The Sheffield College network was founded in 1989 from an amalgamation of community colleges, with Norton among them.

Developer St James Securities has bought the site of the college and Graves swimming pool, and demolition of the old buildings is underway.

Planning permission for the retail park off Bochum Parkway, which will also include Next and TK Maxx, was granted in August last year.

Known as St James Retail Park, it is due to open in spring 2018, creating 250 jobs with an extra 124 in construction work.