Hackney Community College and Tower Hamlets College have today confirmed that they will merge from August this year.

FE Week reported last month that talks had started to create a “single, larger and more sustainable college” which will see both colleges keep their individual existing campuses, names and branding.

After the decision was confirmed today, it was announced that Gerry McDonald, principal of Tower Hamlets College, will be the body’s new chief executive.

Both colleges have also agreed that a fixed-term, part-time merger adviser role will be taken up by Ian Ashman, current principal of Hackney Community College, until the end of December.

The position has been set up to “help and support the management teams in the successful implementation of the merger,” a spokesperson said.

The merger will involve a joint institution of around 17,000 students and apprentices, and 800 staff.

A college spokesperson said the new board of governors will be made up of an equal number of governors from the two existing colleges, with a new, independent chair.

The governance structure of the merged college will take on a new name and the spokesperson told FE Week: “We are currently consulting on a new name which will need to be approved by the Secretary of State ahead of the merger on August 1.”

Current Tower Hamlets College chair, Professor Martin Earwicker, and Hackney Community College chair, Tom Mautner JP, said: “This merger, a partnership of equals, brings together two very strong organisations, which play vital roles in their local communities and the wider region.

“While we will maintain the local names and identities of Hackney Community College and Tower Hamlets College, the merger will create a much stronger organisation, which will continue to meet the skills needs of local people, employers and our communities, for the foreseeable future.”

This comes ahead of the government-led London area reviews and after two other large London colleges, City and Islington College and Westminster Kingsway College, confirmed last month they would be merging.

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply to An FE Teacher Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

3 Comments

    • An FE Teacher

      Sad that education is being eroded away, bit by bit, there will be nothing left for those who want to get on in life and make something of themselves.

      Very sad to see students of today behave like animals in classes. Respect for the teacher is out of the window. When I see this, I feel like fully supporting the cuts and not wasting money on those stupid students who do not care about their education and the education of future generations. Then you see students who want to learn, want to make something of their lives and its very sad to see them suffer. Some students today are taking education for granted. When its gone, it will never come back.

      • amackay

        I fully support your views as I am an FE lecturer ( for the last 20 years)and I have seen a better times for education, but crafty management care only about quantity not quality and reaping all the benefits & bonuses and we ended-up being a mere baby-sitters ( or even jailers !) for those drop-outs of A level and being removed from the unemployment statistics .