Job cuts and merger ‘won’t affect standards at North Shropshire College’
A host of redundancies will not affect the level of education North Shropshire College can offer, its principal has said.
North Shropshire College, which recently merged with Herefordshire and Ludlow College, announced last month the equivalent of 30 full-time jobs would be going.
Consultations have taken place, with jobs set to go in administration and teaching staff.
Principal Ian Peake has assured students thinking of attending the college that education standards will not drop, with A-levels still planned to be added to the curriculum.
“The college has had long standing financial difficulties and they need to be addressed, and these are efficiency savings that need to be made," he said.
Committed
“We are hoping the redundancies will be voluntary, as much as they can be. There will be no effect on the services or the courses we offer. We have published the prospectus for 2019 and it is very good.
“We have some A-levels we are offering again next year and we are still very strongly committed to providing courses.”
Last year, the college had planned to merge with Reaseheath College in Nantwich, but due to funding issues it fell through. A deal was struck with Herefordshire and Ludlow, a move that makes the merged colleges more cost effective.
Mr Peake previously said the £27 million merger, which was officially signed off in November, would help tackle debt burden and a backlog of maintenance. The deal makes it the largest college in Shropshire, Herefordshire and Telford and Wrekin.
