STAFF and students at Stourbridge College have been "badly let down" - the town's MP said this week as news emerged that could see the college dumped by cash-strapped Birmingham Metropolitan College.

BMet, which runs the Hagley Road campus and associated art and design campus in Brierley Hill, is understood to be reviewing its education provision in the Black Country and Kidderminster at the request of the FE Commissioner and Education and Skills Funding Agency - just months after being hit with a third 'requires improvement' rating by Ofsted.

Cliff Hall, who took over as acting principal and CEO at BMet after Andrew Cleaves left the organisation in September, said: "The review is being led by the FE Commissioner's team. The plan is to make any recommendations by April."

The FE Commissioner's team is believed to be consulting with Halesowen and Dudley Colleges regarding interest in the Stourbridge and Kidderminster campuses and Mr Hall said: "We are consulting all of our local stakeholders, staff and students. Any changes will only be made with the agreement of the BMet board of governors.

“Our overriding priority is continuity of provision for our students.

“In the short time that I have been BMet principal, I have come to have the highest regard for the quality of provision at Stourbridge College.”

Stourbridge MP Margot James, however, had less regard for education bosses at the helm at BMet and she said: "I feel for the students and staff at Stourbridge College who have been badly let down by the board and senior management of BMet in recent years.

"It seems to me that BMet, at around the time of our college joining and shortly afterwards, has been allowed to pursue a growth strategy without regard for the responsible management of their finances.

"This over expansion, amongst other things, has resulted in an institution that is no longer viable."

She said she supported and continues to support the decision by college bosses to scrap A-level provision at Stourbridge College - adding: "There are very good providers of A-levels in and around our town, Stourbridge College not being one of them.

"However, our college does offer some very good vocational skills courses, brilliant courses in art and design, Apprenticeships and it will provide the new T-levels in due course."

Stourbridge College had been touted to join forces with Dudley College a few years ago but was instead taken over by BMet - which is one of the largest FE colleges in the country.

The takeover and subsequent rebranding of Stourbridge College angered residents in the town but the original name was later returned when former National Express executive Andrew Cleaves took over from Dame Christine Braddock - and millions have since been invested in upgrading the Hagley Road campus.

Ms James said she remains "confident that Stourbridge College has a bright future under more local leadership involving Halesowen College or Dudley College" and she added: "I apologise to the students and staff of our college for the judgement I made six years ago that BMet would do more for our college than Dudley College would have done.

"The performance of Dudley College during the intervening years serves only to underline how wrong I was."

Bosses at Dudley and Halesowen College have not yet commented.