South Birmingham College and City College Birmingham have agreed to take forward a proposal to merge.

An outline of the proposal to merge, which should result in members of the City College Birmingham Governing body joining the existing Governing Body of South Birmingham College, has been submitted to the Skills Funding Agency (SFA).

It is now subject to their approval, along with Ministerial sign off, but if a favourable response is received, a full public consultation will take place before any merger can take place.

The colleges say that by “combining the considerable strengths of the two organisations the proposed merger will better serve the local community and will ensure the highest quality of education and training is available” now and in the future.

The Principal and Governors from both colleges have worked collaboratively on the proposal.

Mike Hopkins, principal at South Birmingham College, said: “This merger is a great opportunity for Birmingham and will help us expand the first class education and training we currently provide.

“The combined expertise, staff and facilities of the two colleges will help us provide outstanding educational opportunities for our communities.”

Stuart Cutforth, principal at City College Birmingham, added: “We already have an excellent relationship with South Birmingham College and this move is a natural forward progression.

“Our aim is to ensure that the standard of education in Birmingham is amongst the best in the country and this move will help us work towards that.”

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