PLANS to bring West Somerset College under the umbrella of the organisation that is steering its improvement have been delayed.

And hopes of appointing a new headteacher by September also appear to have been dashed.

The Bridgwater College Trust took over the running of the Minehead-based campus – which has been in special measures since being judged to be failing by Government inspectors last October – in March.

A month later principal Gaynor Comber resigned and it emerged that negotiations were taking place with a view to the college becoming part of the trust, which is made up of the Bridgwater College Academy and Hamp and Brymore academies.

It had been hoped that the proposed "conversion" would be achieved by the beginning of June.

But this week parents were told by Peter Elliott, executive headteacher of Bridgwater College Academy, that the new target date was January 1 next year.

In a letter to parents, Mr Elliott said that over the past eight weeks all aspects of how the college worked had been looked at to assess potential levels of risk and liability that might impact upon the trust in the future.

But the process was taking considerably longer than expected, partially due to the fact that the college was a very diverse and complicated organisation, but also because initial evaluations had highlighted some aspects that required a greater degree of scrutiny and understanding.

And these aspects would require the engagement of both the Department for Education and the Education Funding Agency, which further complicated the process.

Mr Elliott said he was disappointed that the process was slower than had been planned but the trust remained fully committed to the college and its students.

"We are determined to work with you (the parents) and the staff to make the college a great school again as quickly as possible."

Since Mrs Comber's departure the college has been led on a day to day basis by Steve Moir, head of secondary phase at Bridgwater College Academy.

However, Mr Elliott said Mr Moir was unable to remain in that role beyond August this year.

And he revealed that a process to recruit a new headteacher to lead the school on a permanent basis, undertaken by the trust in conjunction with college governors before the recent half term break, had been unsuccessful.

"I am very disappointed that we were unable to appoint a suitable candidate with the right skills and expertise," he said.

But Mr Elliott said the trust would be appointing Jane Aplin, currently associate headteacher at Dorcan Technology in Swindon, to lead the college for a full academic year from September.

"Jane is looking forward to coming to Minehead and brings a wealth of school improvement experience from her current role," said Mr Elliott.

"She will be a considerable asset to West Somerset College and we are very grateful to her and fortunate to be receiving her support."

A permanent headteacher will be appointed in the next academic year once the conversion process is complete.