Jo has welcomed the government's decision to approve the merger of Orpington and Bromley Colleges.  This means that the new institution, which will continue to have a deputy-head based at the recently upgraded site in Orpington, can be up and running by the start of the new academic year in September. 

Jo said, "The agreed merger of the two colleges would direct funds more effectively to front-line teaching services by streamlining management, and it would provide a higher quality of teaching by maximising resources and removing subject duplication.   The new college will serve as a hub of further and higher education in the borough, while remaining significantly smaller than the "super colleges"  established in some parts of the country.  I am proud that the new merged college will be based in and around my constituency and wish it well in its objective of achieving OfSTED Outstanding status."