GOVERNORS at West Somerset College have confirmed job losses are in the pipeline as they battle a financial crisis alongside struggling to raise the standard of education at the Minehead campus.

An estimated 30 jobs are understood to be under threat, with staff then having to compete for a limited number of ‘new’ posts.

Although teaching staff will not be affected, the cutbacks will hit the senior leadership team and some support staff teams.

The financial pressures are being blamed mainly on falling pupil numbers at the college, which has been in special measures since being judged to be failing in a damning report by Government Ofsted inspectors a year ago.

In a statement, the governors said costs had been reviewed across the organisation and significant savings in non-staff costs had been identified.

“Regrettably, the governing body has concluded that it also needs to review staffing levels and has invoked the redundancy process with the aim of addressing the financial challenges that the college is currently facing.”

The governors refused to disclose any details on the exact number of jobs at risk or the size of the financial black hole.

And parents have also not been told about the redundancies.