The Education Minister, George Mudie, signalled the move in a speech to a Further Education Funding Council conference in Birmingham.

Schools that fail their inspection reports have already been told that they face closure if they fail to turn round their performance within two years.

Now further education colleges in England - which provide a range of academic courses and training opportunities to four million students - are getting a similar message.

The government wants to see more students in further education colleges

The government has set aside £725m to create another 700,000 places for students in further education.

But Mr Mudie warned that some colleges would have to improve significantly to justify a place in that expansion.

"We have some very good colleges and some very poor colleges in further education," he said.

"In our drive to raise educational standards, we are no longer going to tolerate poorly performing colleges.

"Many colleges are beacons in their communities with very high achievement rates, while others next door are failing."

Mr Mudie said at least 7% of colleges had drop out rates of more than 50%. On average, nearly one in four students did not attend all the classes and lectures they should.

"This is why we intend to get tough on standards," he said. "Where students' success is in jeopardy, where there is wider evidence of failure, we will not hesitate to take swift, interventionist action."

Yellow cards

A new early warning system will be introduced to the inspection of further education colleges, with football-style "yellow cards" for those causing concern.

Those failing to show adequate progress could face closure, a "fresh start" with a new principal and governors, or merger with a more successful neighbour.

At the same time, the best colleges will be expected to spread their example to the rest. A £115m fund has been set up to help them share the secrets of their success.

"This represents a significant opportunity," said Mr Mudie. "Substantial resources, dedicated support mechanisms for colleges to bring about decisive and cohesive action, no excuse any more for not addressing identified weaknesses and for letting students down."