TROUBLED West Somerset College in Minehead is actively looking to get the support it needs to improve falling standards.

Governors are in discussions with another college in the county to see if it can support them with the skills and expertise needed to improve standards.

A shocking report from Ofsted inspectors following a no-notice inspection in October last year deemed the college “inadequate” on all levels and judged it required “special measures.”

Now governors have acted on the advice of the Regional Schools Commissioner for the South West, Sir David Carter, to look at getting the help and leadership required in a sponsorship agreement to turn things around.

It was confirmed earlier this week that initial talks have taken place between West Somerset and the Bridgwater College Trust.

Bridgwater College already sponsors Bridgwater College Academy, Brymore Academy and Hamp Academy in Sedgemoor and oversees their operation through the Bridgwater College Trust which was set up nearly three years ago for that purpose.

Chairman of governors at West Somerset College, Anne Looney, said: “The Bridgwater College Trust and the college are now carrying out due diligence to ensure the Trust’s plans are right for both organisations.

“We are mindful of the need to move swiftly to ensure that the sponsorship arrangements benefit students as soon as possible.”

“We are hopeful the support of this experienced sponsor will provide West Somerset College with the leadership and capacity required to raise standards and improve outcomes for West Somerset College’s children,” she added.

It is usual that any school, which has been judged to require special measures, be allocated a sponsor to help them improve.

“Sponsors are generally good or outstanding schools with similar backgrounds which have the skills and expertise to support the improvement process.”

Bridgwater and West Somerset MP, Ian Liddell-Grainger, has welcomed the news and is looking forward to seeing the initiative gain improved results.

“This has taken longer than we would have hoped, but there’s been an enormous amount of work put into this to make sure that the people who matter most, the children, receive a first-class education in West Somerset so that they can reach their full potential and meet their aspirations,” he said.

“We have taken a great deal of time and diligence in order to get the right frame work in place.”

The Bridgwater College Trust has stressed, however, that discussions were still “exploring the potential” of it becoming a sponsor.

Jenny Ashworth, head of academic partnerships and marketing at Bridgwater College, said: “We are confident we can add value and help to improve outcomes in results and experiences for the students.

“We have a lot to offer. This will be a new challenge, but we are now experienced as a Trust.”

She said that discus sions would still be ongoing to see if the sponsorship move was the right one for all parties and then there would be the process of ensuring financial and legal requirements were in place.

“The Trust and West Somerset College are now undertaking a due diligence process to ensure that the plans are right for both organisations,” she said.

“It is hoped that the support of Bridgwater College Trust, as an experienced sponsor, will provide West Somerset College with the leadership and capacity required to raise standards and improve outcomes for their students.

“Both parties are mindful of the need to move swiftly to ensure that the sponsorship arrangements benefit students as soon as possible.”

It might not, however, be for another few months before the discussions are completed and the agreement is finalised.

News of the discussions – albeit at an early stage – have been revealed by the colleges in order t o keep parents fully informed of what is happening.

Parents were outraged at the Ofsted inspection last year and poor exam results and staged a campaign to get education officials to take action and remove the leadership at West Somerset College including principal Gaynor Comber.

Paul Davies, a spokesman for the protest group, had mixed views about the possible sponsorship when contacted by the Gazette yesterday (Wednesday).

“The priority for me, and I’m sure everyone else, is that the children of West Somerset must have a local school that will teach them to the very best standards in order that they may achieve their full potential,” he said.

But he said the news would be met with a combination of “relief and scepticism.”

“The announcement of the sponsorship agreement with Bridgwater College will I’m sure, be met with a combination of relief that a successful team has finally been appointed to show West Somerset College the way forward, but with scepticism that much will be achieved while the current principal, management team, and governing board remain in place,” he said.

“Although I have no experience or knowledge of how the sponsorship agreement between Bridgwater College and West Somerset College will operate in practical terms, I personally believe that not much will be achieved while those who presided over the college’s falling educational standards at GCSE level remain.

“But obviously for the sake of the students, current and future, I sincerely hope that I will be proved wrong.”