Scotland's Elmwood College, Oatridge College and Barony College form consortium

SCC will act as a focus, where appropriate, when bidding for funding and represent the landbased sector's views at regional and national level.

Oatridge College principal David James said: "Oatridge, Barony and Elmwood have collaborated quite closely for six or seven years, but this agreement represents a step-change in our relationship. The end result will be an enhancement of what is available to the landbased learner in Scotland.

"The three Boards of Management see this as the formalisation and further development of what we have been doing, however the presence of the Scottish Agricultural College at the signing is significant.

"The SAC is now funded for education, like the rest of us, through the Scottish Funding Council and we are looking forward to detailed discussions on how we can work more closely together, particularly on articulation and progression for our students, and how our courses can be developed to make for a smoother transition."