college mergers

Colleges seek merger to capitalise on devolution

‘Powerful’ new group to be created next July

To merge or not to merge – that is the question

Cash-strapped colleges should appraise the merits of a merger to avoid having structural change thrust upon them

Long-awaited three-college Hampshire merger gets over the line

Future of City College Southampton secured as it joins Fareham and Eastleigh College

Troubled Easton and Otley College to be demerged and taken over

A troubled land-based college is to be broken up and merged with two other colleges, following two consecutive ‘inadequate’ ratings by Ofsted. Easton and Otley College was told to urgently improve its leadership earlier this year after the FE Commissioner raised serious quality and financial concerns. Just a few of months ago the college, which […]

Mystery surrounds second delay to Havering College merger plans

A cash-strapped college’s future has been thrown into doubt after a merger it was depending on to sort out its finances was delayed for a second time in mysterious circumstances. A formal merger between Havering College of Further and Higher Education, Havering Sixth Form College and New City College – which are currently part joined […]

Failing colleges that merge ‘can expect’ Ofsted monitoring visit

Grade three or four colleges that merge can expect to receive a monitoring visit before their first full inspection, Ofsted has confirmed today. The clarification, which applies to mergers from January 2018 onwards, follows criticism that poor-performing colleges had been able to get away without any Ofsted scrutiny following a merger. According to the FE […]

Ofsted criticised for allowing college mergers to be excuse for turning a blind eye to failure

The chair of the influential education select committee has called on Ofsted to “learn the lessons” from Learndirect, after an FE Week investigation found failing colleges that still hadn’t been visited by the education watchdog a year after they merged. Mid-Cheshire College, rated ‘inadequate’ for the second time in a row in May 2017, merged […]

August is key merger month amid 17 partnerships for 2018

A partnership that was bitterly opposed by a local council, and the first university-college link-up in six years, are among four mergers set to go through on August 1. They are among 17 partnerships due to be formalised this year, despite Ofsted’s recent warning that bigger colleges are not always better. Financially stricken Epping Forest […]

Ofsted: Bigger colleges aren’t always better

“Big is not always beautiful,” Ofsted’s main man for FE has warned, admitting he is considering the effect of mega-colleges formed through mergers on quality. Paul Joyce’s admission comes just a week after the nation’s largest college group NCG saw its rating slip to ‘requires improvement’. “We are looking at our survey programme as to […]