Northampton and Moulton colleges could merge

Northampton College and Moulton College could merge to make a new, single college under plans being explored by the two educational centres.

The colleges said the possible merger - called "Stronger Together" - would improve the range of courses and progression routes they offer their students and boost collaboration.

There are currently 12,000 students aged 16+ and 1,100 staff across the two sites, both of which are rated Good by Ofsted.

If approved by both college boards, plans to merge could be completed in January 2027

The colleges said the plans were still at the early stages and they were open to hearing the views of students, staff and the wider community.

However, the proposals to explore the benefits of the merger have been approved by the Board of Governors at both schools.

The colleges said due diligence work would take place over the coming months to fully discuss the implications of the proposals before any final decision was made.

Jason Lancaster, principal and CEO of Northampton College, said the potential merger would improve the learning experience for students as they would be able to offer new courses.

He added: "We would be able to offer a richer and wider range of courses and progression routes...and share facilities so that more students benefit."

He said the sites the colleges currently occupy would remain, with no campuses being lost under the plans.

"Our staff have already been collaborating and doing shared professional development in recent years, but we can do much more of that," he added.

Lancaster said that whilst they "can't make any promises" regarding redundancies, they intend to have the same number of students and would need staff to serve them.

Oliver Symons, principal and CEO of Moulton College, said the merger would "bring the strengths of both organisations together".

"It just makes sense, it's about making sure the young people in Northamptonshire have choices [and] have options," he said.

"We're very much keeping students at the heart of this whole decision. We would still be a local college."

He added: "[We could] invest in considerable resources, the latest technology, invest in the curriculum areas so they are state-of-the-art."

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