Teachers, students and support staff gathered outside a college to protest against plans to sack staff.

The group stood outside Barnet and Southgate College Wood Street campus as they chanted and held signs declaring Save Further Education, No Confidence in the Principal, and Save Lecturer Jobs.

The row centres on the college's plans to sack approximately 30 staff.

The decision came after a 45-day consultation process in which Principal David Byrne and senior management assessed the needs of the college.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at the college unanimously passed a motion of no confidence in Mr Byrne and the college's senior management.

The UCU is asking the college to defer any further redundancies until autumn, when student recruitment numbers for the next academic year are known.

The next step is a selection process in which the college will notify the faculty about who will lose their jobs.

Similar protests took place at Southgate and Grahame Park campuses earlier today.

A spokesman for the college said: "Barnet and Southgate College, like all other FE Colleges, is facing funding cuts and due to these reductions, it has needed to make changes. 

"The college has undertaken an extensive consultation exercise, taken on board comments from staff potentially affected and the recognised trade unions which has reduced the effects of redundancies through voluntary redundancies and other amendments to the original proposal following consideration of the feedback received.

"The college's aim remains to serve our local community effectively whilst remaining a thriving and progressive organisation by ensuring our provision is relevant to our local workforce and finding more efficient and innovative ways of working."