A computer college for adults in Oxford will close at the end of this month, despite last-ditch efforts by staff to save it.

Mike Newbury, acting manager of the Oxford Learning Centre, and his colleagues will lose their jobs when the college closes at the end of the month

The Oxford Learning Centre, above the Clarendon Centre in Cornmarket, will close on June 28 with the loss of 10 jobs.

The centre, run by Swindon College and funded by the Swindon and Wiltshire Learning and Skills Council, has 400 students on virtually free courses. Some are blind or disabled.

Despite its reputation as a centre of excellence, it is being forced to close because its students are from Oxfordshire, not Wiltshire. The Swindon-based LSC said it is no longer able to fund education outside the Swindon area.

Staff have written to the LSC and MPs in a bid to save the centre, but their pleas have been turned down. Acting manager Mike Newbury, of Fettiplace Road, Barton, Oxford, is one of those set to lose his job.

He said: "We asked Swindon College to save the centre but there is no way they can go back on their decision. We even looked into taking over the college ourselves, but we decided it would not have been feasible.

"The closure has come as a shock. We are upset but resigned to the fact. Now we are looking to the future and trying to find alternative employment. It will also break up a wonderful team.

"We are trying to put on a brave face for the students, and get them through as much of the course as we can before the end. Then they will have to find somewhere else to go."

Some students will be able to join courses at Oxford Central Library, in Queen Street, some have been offered places on courses run by North Oxfordshire College in Kidlington and Bicester, and others will join a course run by Abingdon and Witney College in Didcot. But for many students, the closure of the centre means they will lose vital IT training and even if they transfer, many will not be able to continue on the same City and Guilds certificate course.

Phil Neave, the business development manager at Swindon College, said: "It is a great shame as we have had so many letters from students praising the centre's staff and learning environment. If it had been within our operating area, it would have been all right.

"We have been talking to colleges and Oxfordshire County Council, and are trying to make sure our students are relocated. It is not our intention to upset people and we want to provide as little aggravation to students as possible."