South Staffordshire College and South Thames College have joined the 157 Group, the body has revealed.

The announcement was made by 157 Group today on Twitter.

It tweeted: “We are delighted to announce two new colleges @southstaffs and @SouthThamesColl, bringing the 157 Group to 30 fantastic members.”

Graham Morley, chief executive principal of South Staffordshire College, said: “We are delighted to be joining the 157 Group.  As a business facing organisation we are committed to connecting with similar organisations who share our vision, values and principles.

“We are looking forward to making a significant contribution to the work of this group for the benefit of those we serve.”

Both South Staffordshire, which was last inspected in April 2013, South Thames, which was last inspected in May 2012, are rated good overall by Ofsted.

It comes after FE Week reported on March 1 that City College Plymouth (CCP) had become the second college to join the 157 Group since it exclusively revealed that it planned to expand to FE Week in January

That announcement was made a little over a month after Cardiff and Vale College became the first college to join the 157 Group after it exclusively revealed to FE Week that it was planning to expand following a strategic review.

At the time, the group’s chief executive, Ian Pretty said they had had enquiries about joining the group from 15 colleges.

South Thames College was unable to comment ahead of publication.

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