A HIGH Court bid to sue Oxford's Plater College over its decision to close has been abandoned by campaigners who have run out of cash after spending thousands of pounds on legal fees.

The Plater College Foundation, set up to oppose the closure of the college, has dropped its legal action against four Catholic Archbishops, the college governors and the Catholic Education Service (CES) just days before a hearing was due to take place at Birmingham High Court on Friday.

The move coincides with the publication of a consultation document by the CES, setting out suggestions for how the Plater tradition could continue in Oxford.

Proposals included the possible re-establishment of a Plater Hall in the city and the setting up of scholarships or research posts.

The governors' decision to wind up the residential college in Pullens Lane, Headington, in July, was blamed on falling student numbers, funding difficulties and a damning report by the Adult Learning Inspectorate, which exposed "significant issues" relating to bullying, drug misuse, racist abuse and sexual harassment. In April, the college's reputation suffered further when the Oxford Mail revealed that Chinese students recruited by former principal Robert Beckinsale had paid more than £10,000 for degree courses which did not exist.

Foundation chairman Mick McAndrews, a former student and staff member at the college, said the litigation could have been avoided if the college had been more transparent about its closure decision.

He refused to give an exact figure for how much the Foundation had spent on legal fees, but said it had been "more than £10,000".

It remains unclear whether former law student and foundation secretary John Rhys Burgess, who claims the college clerk discredited him in a letter, is continuing to pursue a separate claim for libel against the college. Mr McAndrews said he had not been in contact with Mr Rhys Burgess since the foundation asked him to resign in October.

He said: "We have agreed to call it a day.

"If this vision that you can see in the consultation document had been expressed in February, I've no doubt things would have been different.

"I would urge people to complete the consultation document and hopefully the results will be made public. That's been the problem so far."

A spokesman for the CES said: "The action by the Plater College Foundation against the Trustees has formally been discontinued.

"We are pleased that the matter has been resolved and we can now continue with the consultative exercise with a view to continuing the Plater mission in the 21st century."

The CES refused to comment on the libel action.

Mr Rhys Burgess was unavailable for comment.