West Oxfordshire College and Abingdon College want to join forces by the autumn term of next year.

But there will be a consultation period first, with the final decision resting with Government Education Secretary, Mr David Blunkett.

The merger has been on the books for some time, following funding problems for the West Oxfordshire College, based at Witney.

It is one of the smallest in the country and has recently had to scrap some of its courses and make some staff redundant. The chairmen of both colleges, Mr Paul Rivers at Abingdon and Mr Geoff Bonner at West Oxfordshire, issued a joint statement looking forward to the merger.

"There is already common ground between the two in terms of the markets they serve, their missions and ethos and values," they said.

"We look forward to creating a new institution which will harness developments in information technology to meet the needs of students in the new Millennium."

West Oxfordshire College signalled its intention to join forces in talks with both Abingdon and Oxford College of Further Education. The West Oxfordshire option has been preferred by the governors. At this stage it is not clear what the impact will be on staff jobs at the Witney college. All existing 650 full-time and more than 2,000 part-time students have been assured, however, there will be no effect on their courses.

Principal Mr David Mills said: "As the merged institution is not expected to begin its life until August 2001, there will be sufficient time to consult the communities of the west and southern areas of the county.

"The development of a new college is a turning point in the history of collaborative action between colleges of further education in Oxfordshire."