Hundreds of staff at Lambeth College will strike next week over funding cuts expected to see scores of staff lose their jobs.

The industrial action over redundancies is expected to cause major disruption to Lambeth's largest educational provider.

The one-day strike on May 5 will disrupt learning for thousands of students, including sixth formers preparing for crucial A-level exams, though no exams scheduled for the day will be cancelled.

Trade union Lambeth College University College Union (UCU) said it was necessary to take a stand against millions of pounds of Government cuts to the college's adult education budget.

It is demanding new Government department the Skills Funding Agency improve further education funding, and the college dig in to reserves of £2.1m to save jobs.

Lambeth UCU branch secretary Susan McDowell said: "The disruption caused has the purpose of halting at any cost the cuts that will see teachers lose their jobs and the quality of education adults receive continue to degrade."

The college has seen £9m in cuts since 2006, and faces a further £3.5m deficit this financial year. The college management expects further extensive cuts to funding in future years.

Adult education courses facing the axe in September include short business, IT and counselling courses while redundancies are expected to hit sixth form English and business teachers.

The college originally launched a consultation over job cuts that stated 130 staff could lose their jobs. The equivalent of 26 full-time teachers are now expected to lose their jobs - while 13 will take early retirement.

Cuts are disproportionately affecting the most disadvantaged students, especially young adults struggling in the recession, those on benefits and those who need to develop language skills, Ms McDowell said.

Lambeth UCU has not ruled out further sustained strikes, that could be made with a further 120 support staff from Unison. Wednesday's walkout - part of industrial action taken by 11 colleges in London - will involve at least 220 of some 600 staff at the college.

Christine Griffiths, Lambeth College's vice principal, said only a few adult courses would close, and these would not contribute to Government priority targets.

She said college principal Richard Chambers had joined with the Association of Colleges, and other national groups representing further education, to make representations to ministers about the effects of the cuts on Government targets to reduce unemployment and to increase skills, especially during the recession.

Student numbers have plummeted from 21,000 in 2004-5 to 13,200 last year.

She added: "Although we understand staff concerns about redundancy, the college has no control over these budget reductions, and interrupting students’ studies at this crucial time of the year is not in our view the proper way to express those concerns."

A spokesperson for Skills Funding Agency said colleges were responsible for determining the level and mix of their provision for adults within the funding available to them.

“We expect the way in which these are delivered to be reviewed to determine where efficiencies can be made. “