For many of our new and current students, the only change will be that there will be even more opportunities to continue to the next level after they have completed their course.

We will still be known as Central Bedfordshire College, operating from the same locations in Dunstable, Luton, Leighton Buzzard and Houghton Regis.

Our merger partner, The Bedford College Group, will bring renewed strength and resilience to CBC, allowing us to share in the success of its member colleges while continuing to keep our identify and character.

There will be some additional staffing as we increase our course offering and management capacity. Current staff will continue to be employed at their current locations.

It’s natural that there can be some anxiety around merger, so we want to be very clear about the reasons why we are able to give these assurances.

1 Efficiency

CBC is extremely efficient in terms of its staffing levels and spending, which means there is no need to make savings in these areas.

2 Autonomy

The Bedford College Group has made it very clear that it cherishes the identity of its member colleges and therefore will want to bolster rather than reduce the local management at CBC. This has been amply demonstrated by the Group’s track record with previous mergers.

3 Uniqueness

CBC’s location and course offering are such that it doesn’t compete with The Bedford College Group. This means there is no duplication to remove.

Our provision does not overlap with the Group’s existing colleges, which means merger will not involve the kind of rationalisation which can take place when there is a merger between two colleges serving the same geographical area with similar courses.

“The curriculum will be expanded rather than contracted.  Our proposal envisages an increase in management, teachers and professional support staff at Dunstable.” - The Bedford College Group

Find out more on our Merger page here.