Dereham Sixth Form College has a secure, bright and exciting future, two of its leaders said this week.

The college has been managed solely by Northgate High School after Neatherd High School's attempts to open a second sixth form in the town were halted by Norfolk County Council last year.

While Neatherd's next move over the sixth form remain unclear Northgate High School head teacher Glyn Hambling and Dereham Sixth Form director Phyllis O'Grady emphasised there are exciting times ahead for the college.

Ms O'Grady, who confirmed on Monday that she will be standing down on March 31, but will return to the college in September as a member of the management team, said: 'We have very strong numbers - we are interviewing nearly 300 students over the next few days and are becoming a major education provider for Norfolk as a whole.

'We are offering 32 different A-levels, we are looking to work more with local businesses and to offer adult education courses.

'There are exciting times ahead and the sixth form is certainly not in a wobble period.'

Mr Hambling said: 'I'm extremely proud of the leadership team here and how they have managed all the challenges they have had to face. I'm extremely proud of the students and staff for everything they achieved last year and we're now in a very strong position moving forward.'

Northgate High School is moving towards establishing a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) in partnership with Dereham Sixth Form College, Garverstone Primary School, Beeston Primary and Grove House Infant School and Kings Park Infant School, both in Dereham.

Mr Hambling said becoming a MAT will benefit all of the organisations involved by formalising existing relationships into a structure.

He said: 'I am really excited about becoming a MAT and bringing strength of governance at all levels.

'It will mean we can share practices across different phases, centralise structures such as data, finance and HR, get better value for money and put more money into teaching and learning.

'It will also mean we can do a lot for the teachers' career development and help the teachers here to improve even further.'

A public consultation on Northgate's MAT proposals has ended. The MAT is due to be established in April.

People can apply for a place at Dereham Sixth Form College, by visiting www.helpyouchoose.org or contacting Dereham Sixth Form College office on 01362 696884.