THE head of a crisis-hit Hampshire college has today vowed to make improvements in the wake of scathing criticism from education chiefs.

But she has defended the decision to scrap A-level courses later this year despite opposition from protesters.

Inspectors from Ofsted are on the verge of publishing a report into Totton College after an inspection at the troubled establishment following a cash crisis.

As reported in the Daily Echo, 90 students halfway through their courses at the Calmore Road college are being offered the choice of staying there and completing their studies or switching to another educational establishment in September.

Four full-time equivalent posts at Totton are likely to be lost.

Ofsted has yet to release the full report into the four-day inspection which finished on Friday, May 1, around the time protesters gathered at the school gates to demonstrate against scrapping courses.

But a statement released by the college last night claims that inspectors deemed many A-level programmes not “sufficiently challenging”, despite students making “very good” progress in some vocational subjects.

Interim principal Jo Landles, pictured below, said: “We are disappointed but not surprised at Ofsted’s view given the current pressures on staff and students. It was inevitable that inspectors weren’t seeing people at their best – many of the observed staff had just been told that their posts were at risk of redundancy.

Daily Echo:

“The challenges we face are known to us and the issues highlighted by inspectors reflect the college’s current position and our recent announcement about the decision to end A-level provision.”

She thanked students and families for support over the “challenging period”, adding: “In the future we can concentrate on our more technical and practical courses, where our strength lies.

“It’s now vital that we work together to improve the quality of the college wherever it is required.

“We know that our students, parents, employers and the local community deserve no less.”

Problems at the college are believed to have started last summer.

The number of students joining the campus was lower than expected, resulting in a £600,000 cut in the money it received from the Education Funding Agency.

The college is currently in talks with the National Association for Care and Rehabilitation of Offenders (NACRO), which educates ex- convicts following their release from prison.

Liberal Democrat council candidate Cllr David Harrison branded the inspection “utterly pointless” given the position and added: “One can only imagine how staff threatened with redundancy and told courses no longer would continue must have felt.”

New Forest East Labour electoral candidate Cllr Andrew Pope said the college has been forced into scrapping A-levels due to the Government’s further education cuts and added: “It’s a great institution and I want education to continue at that site.”

A spokesman for Ofsted was unable to comment on the report until its publication.