A CITY college plans to join the country’s first multi-academy trust (MAT) for sixth form institutions.

Worcester Sixth Form College plans to form a MAT with Hereford Sixth Form College.

The organisation will likely be called the Heart of West Mercia MAT, according to Peter Cooper, the head of Hereford Sixth Form College.

Mr Cooper, who would be executive principal of both colleges if the plan goes ahead, said: “This partnership will allow us to pool resources, share expertise and raise the standards of student programmes across our region.

“The departments will work really closely together. Teachers will be meeting and seeing what works.

“We are swimming with the Government’s agenda. It’s all about the best colleges spreading their wings to help everyone achieve their standards.

“We are hoping for other schools and colleges to join [the trust] over a period of time.”

Mr Cooper said there would be exchanges of staff and teaching techniques between the colleges, under the plans.

He hopes that the MAT will be set up in spring 2019.

The principal added that Worcester Sixth Form College had already benefited from its partnership with Hereford, by joining the University of Cambridge’s HE+ programme, which prepares Year 12 students for top universities.

Edward Senior, principal of Worcester Sixth Form College, said: “It’s something that’s taken a long time and is ongoing.

“We are excited about the opportunity.”

The principal said the college was demonstrating a budget surplus for this year and the next two years and denied it was joining the trust for economic reasons, although he said the plan would bring financial benefits.

He said the sixth form was advised to become an academy after a review in 2016.

The college set up a dormant company, called Worcestershire Learning Trust (WLT) in 2017, with the intention of creating an ‘empty’ MAT, made up of just Worcester Sixth Form College.

However, this plan had to be dropped after the Government changed its rules on ‘empty’ MATs, the college said.

Hereford Sixth Form College college was the first sixth form in the country to convert into an academy.

It was graded Outstanding by Ofsted, while Worcester’s college was rated Good.

Sixth form colleges were allowed to become academies and avoid paying VAT in 2015.

Roughly 2,100 pupils attend the college, compared with around 1,300 students at the Worcester institution.