Bedfordshire colleges celebrate £80m merger

Two Bedfordshire colleges have merged to create an organisation worth nearly £80m.

Central Bedfordshire College, which serves Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable, officially became part of the Bedford group on March 1, uniting nearly 2,000 staff and 18,000 students.

This means that The Bedford College Group is now the 7th largest in the UK, with sites also including Tresham College and its campuses in Northamptonshire, Shuttleworth College near Biggleswade, and multiple Bedford campuses.

South West Bedfordshire MP, Andrew Selous, said: "I welcome the integration of Central Bedfordshire College into The Bedford College Group. There is now a very urgent requirement to get the engineering construction skills centre on Chartmoor Road in Leighton Buzzard to train the engineers and construction workers we desperately need, and the college needs to reach out urgently to employers across Central Bedfordshire to meet their training needs in areas like computer numeric control, and in many other disciplines as well.”

The premises on Chartmoor Road were formerly part of Central Beds College and are now under the Bedford group's umbrella. Research is currently being undertaken among employers to establish the best courses to be offered there.

Ian Pryce CBE, Bedford College Group CEO, said: “We are really pleased with the support of the local MP and agree Leighton Buzzard deserves a broader, richer further education offer for such a big town. We are currently undertaking external research to identify what that offer should be."

While Mr Pryce remains CEO, a post he has held for nearly 25 years, the title of principal has been given to the people charged with heading up the Bedford and Northants (Tresham College campuses). Central Beds College acting principal, Sarah Mortimer, is also welcomed to the group. Meanwhile, for both students and staff at the Central Bedfordshire College, it is "business as usual" with classes and courses due to "continue as expected".

A spokeswoman for The Bedford College Group added: "Behind the scenes, the management teams and governing bodies will be working closely together to ensure a seamless transition, and to put plans in place to expand the educational offer to meet the future skills needs of Central Bedfordshire and Luton communities."

The merger means the group has risen from a £60-million-a-year college to a £76m organisation.