Almost 100 staff at a women’s education charity have lost their jobs after the Bridge Organisation was placed in administration blaming changes to government funding which meant students now had to pay for courses.

Gillian Sayburn, Andrew Haslam and Simon Lundy from Begbies Traynor, were appointed joint administrators last Friday and immediately made 97 out of 110 employees redundant.

Sayburn, who is insolvency director at the business rescue firm, said: “Due to the changes and restrictions in central funding within education, the number of students has been steadily dropping over the course of the last year. In addition, Bridge has encountered problems itself with funding due to the general economic climate, leading to dwindling reserves.”

She told civilsociety.co.uk that the charity found itself in financial difficulty “because the government had introduced the requirement that individuals pay for courses”.

Previously most students had been offered free places on courses designed to improve the opportunities available to women of all ages. The charity was founded in 1985 and by 2012 had three centres in Sunderland, one centre in Durham and also offered childcare services and volunteering opportunities.

Bridge Organisation’s latest set of accounts show that while its income for 2011 was £1,102,267 – a slight drop on 2010 when it was £1,105,707, its spending had increased from £1,064,860 in 2010 to £1,120,013 last year.

Sayburn added: “It is hoped that by entering administration, negotiations can be held with various stakeholders in an attempt to rescue, if only in part, some of the business.”

Sheila Davidson, chief executive of the Bridge Organisation, said: “It is with much regret and sadness that the business is now in administration. We offer our sincere thanks to all of the funders, partners, colleagues and friends of Bridge who have supported the organisation over the years.”