Suffolk One sixth form college facing 20% cuts

Suffolk One opened in 2010 serving schools in south Ipswich and neighbouring villages

A Suffolk sixth form college is facing cuts to teaching staff and courses as it looks to save £2m from its budget.

Suffolk One in Ipswich, which has about 1,750 students and 200 staff, has to make a 20% cut in its annual budget of £10m.

Alan Whittaker, principal, said the college has to make "tough decisions" before the next academic year.

Teaching unions said they would be meeting college bosses on Friday to hear the initial proposals.

The college opened in 2010 to provide post-16 education for children from surrounding state schools which did not have their own sixth forms.

'Significant number'

It offers 41 A-levels and 29 vocational courses.

Mr Whittaker said: "We opened with a deficit and we did have to take some loans on and those debts have built up as funding has reduced.

"We're looking for efficiency savings across the board and we're working through those [staff redundancy] figures - there's a significant number.

"Clearly, we will be looking at the viability of courses and will have to make some tough decisions."

The principal said students will be able to complete any courses they have started.

A spokesman for the National Union of Teachers said all the unions represented at the college would be meeting Suffolk One's management.