A new £5million extension at Ystrad Mynach college has been opened.
Leighton Andrews, Assembly Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning, opened the new building on Friday.
The block has 13 classrooms, a new library, improved catering facilities and public areas for students, exhibitions, competitions and public events, providing the college with some much-needed space for its 15,000 students.
The new block has achieved a BREEAM (BR Environmental Assessment Method) excellence rating for its green technology.
It includes a biomass boiler to heat the college, natural ventilation, rainwater harvesting and a green roof.
The development has been funded as part of a £50million investment project by the Welsh Assembly Government to improve facilities of colleges in Wales.