FINANCIAL difficulties at the Pershore Group of Colleges means it could be split up and merged with institutions from outside Worcestershire.

The group comprises the former Pershore College of Horticulture at Avonbank, the former Worcestershire College of Agriculture at Hindlip and the former Herefordshire College of Agriculture at Holme Lacy.

The Group and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is investigating the merger of the Avonbank site with Warwickshire College, which has campuses in Leamington Spa and Rugby. The Holme Lacy campus, in the Wye Valley near Hereford, would come under the auspices of Hereford College of Technology.

Pershore Colleges was lent £850,000 by the LSC several years ago, which it had planned to start paying back gradually from 2007. But the LSC has now said it will withdraw the agreement if the college does not proceed with merger plans.

Heather Barrett-Mold, the principal and chief executive of Pershore Group of Colleges, said the possibility of a merger had been considered for some time.

She added: "The college has had difficulties with finances for a period of time so it was decided

to investigate a merger.

"There are positives on both sides of the argument and I am talking it through with my staff.

"I'm keen that the provision and the infrastructure we have here is not lost.

"We wouldn't want to throw the baby out with the bath water."

The LSC said it had fully taken into account the need for increased capital investment and the current financial viability of the Pershore Group of Colleges.

A spokeswoman said: "The corporation of the Pershore Group of Colleges and the local Learning and Skills Council have reviewed the financial situation of the college and agreed that to ensure the continued delivery of high quality education, the college should now investigate the possibility of a merger or mergers.

"The management and the LSC will be working together in the meantime to ensure that there is no disruption to the education and training delivered by the college and that both the current sites remain fully operational for their pupils."

The Pershore Group of Colleges - which specialises in horticulture, animal care and outdoor education - was created in the late 1990s through the amalgamation of the three campuses at Pershore, Hindlip and Holme Lacy.

It currently caters for about 5,000 students.