Bucks: Colleges at Aylesbury and Wycombe to merge

Significant progress has been made in working towards the upcoming merger between Aylesbury College and Amersham & Wycombe College.

In a move that confirms the commitment of both organisations to the merger, the chairs of the corporations (governing bodies) of both colleges have announced the appointment of the principal and CEO and senior leadership team who will drive and lead the merger between the two colleges.

The merged college will be led by the current Aylesbury College principal and CEO Karen Mitchell who will lead both colleges from May 23.

Ian Barham, chairman of the Aylesbury College Corporation, said: “The implementation of one team of senior leaders led by Karen pre-merger will provide clarity and direction with strong, stable leadership and management of the joint vision and mission for the merged college. It also clarifies the accountability and responsibility by the principal and senior leaders for the performance of both organisations and supports strong and clear decision-making required for the merged college.”

The existing Aylesbury College deputy principal for learning and quality, Fiona Morey, and the vice-principal for corporate services, John McGrath, will also take up senior leadership roles, and will continue to be supported in the interim by Amersham and Wycombe senior managers.

Eddie Weiss, chairman of the Amersham & Wycombe Corporation, said: “The interim principal at Amersham & Wycombe College, Jackie Watt, will remain in post until June 30 to support the transition. We are extremely grateful to Jackie for her hard work and dedication in supporting the merger process at Amersham & Wycombe College and focusing on achieving the significant progress recognised at the recent Ofsted visit.”

Mitchell said: “I feel very honoured and privileged to be leading two great colleges with a long and rich history in skills training and education towards one merged, larger, stronger and sustainable College of Further Education for Buckinghamshire. I look forward to working with students and staff across all three campuses, and with employers and our communities.  The merged college will provide local high quality vocational skills training and education that directly meets the needs of young people, adults and employers in Bucks and the region.”

As the merger progresses, both colleges are keen to re-iterate that it is very much ‘business as usual’ for all current students and that potential students applying to the colleges for courses starting in September should continue to apply to the college of their choice as they normally would.