Braintree College has become only the 13th college out of 456 in the country to achieve accredited status by the Further Education Funding Council.

A one-off payment of £50,000 will be now given to the college as part of a formal agreement with the council, which says the college must share their good practice with others and support the drive to raise standards.

FEFC chief executive, David Melville, said: "The criteria for accreditation are demanding and they provide a real incentive for colleges to raise standards. These colleges are examples of the high standards which represent the very best of the FE sector."

The five main criteria a college must achieve to reach this status include regular and rigorous self-assessment, demonstrations that the standards of students' achievements are improving, plus formal and effective control.

Principal at the college, Martin Bates, said: "It would be difficult to overstate the pleasure and pride that this announcement gives me.

''The criteria for accreditation are extremely demanding, and the FEFC can be assured we have robust mechanisms in place which can be relied on to help us consistently improve quality."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.