THE merger of York's two colleges has moved a step closer.

York Sixth Form College and York College of Further and Higher Education, both on Tadcaster Road, are set to merge in April next year with sixth form principal Mike Galloway as the new head.

In the latest development, the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC), the Government's controlling body for further education, has announced its approval for the plan after a public consultation period.

Now the only remaining hurdle is the approval of the Education Secretary David Blunkett.

Plans have been passed to Mr Blunkett and a decision is expected by the end of this year.

Mr Galloway said: "The full approval of the FEFC demonstrates that people at both local and national level welcome the move to strengthen post-16 learning provision in the city.

"The proposed merger will mean greater choice and flexibility in education opportunities for full and part time students of all ages.

"As well as benefiting from the combined learning resources and leisure facilities of both colleges, students will have access to a wider range of both vocational and academic courses."

He said the comments gathered during the consultation included a letter from Mike Peters, director of education at the City of York Council, who had backed the plan.

The two colleges want to form a single corporation, a move which would see them retaining their separate identities but with one principal and one governing body.

The colleges' governors gave their approval to the idea in May and the regional committee of the FEFC gave its backing to the merger plans in July.

Currently the two colleges operate on an annual budget of £16 million, with 650 staff serving 3,500 full-time students and more than 10,000 part-time students.

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