A damning report by Ofsted states that the quality of teaching is poor, pupils are not being given an acceptable standard of education and that examination results over the last few years have been significantly below average.
In addition, it states, the management and governors of the college are also failing in their duty.
Headteacher Rachel Totton said she and her staff were determined to turn things round as quickly as possible.
The chairman of governors, Neil Slater, said Ms Totton had his full support.
The college is the first secondary school in North Yorkshire to be placed in special measures since the system was started in 1993.
The report says: "Leaders do not have the capacity to take the school forward. They have failed to demonstrate the ability to deal with issues with sufficient rigour and pace.
"As a result, too many students show significant underachievement and the college gives poor value for money."
It continues: "Governance is inadequate. The governing body carries out its responsibilities seriously, but is not rigorous enough in holding management to account, nor is it always accurate in its ordering of priorities."
Standards in the sixth form are below average and the quality of teaching is inconsistent. The report says a newly-appointed management team has identified strategies to improve the situation in the sixth form but application of these has not yet made an impact.
The report states that when students transfer to the college at Year 10 they are above average but these standards have dropped by the end of Year 11.
Despite this the college evaluates its effectiveness as being good, the sixth form as being effective, the quality of teaching as being good and the leadership and management as being good.
Ms Totton said although she accepted the report she could not understand how the inspectors had reached the conclusion that attainment was poor as GCSE results this year met the North Yorkshire average.
She also said standards appear to drop when children from Caedmon and Eskdale transfer to the college because the two feeder schools are so successful in teaching children the Key Stage 3 part of the curriculum which children follow up to the age of 14.
The college was visited by four Ofsted inspectors last month who carried out a two-day inspection and visited 23 out of 478 lessons.
Ms Totton said this differed from the 1999 inspection – when the school was rated as good – when inspectors spent more time at the school.
Initially the college appealed against the report, but the appeal was rejected and the college now accepts the conclusions the inspectors have reached.
It is likely that the college will be in special measures for between six months and a year and will be inspected at regular intervals.
Being in special measures means the college will have regular visits from advisors and consultants from the local education authority and advanced skills teachers who will provide staff training.
Ms Totton said: "We want to make these improvements and we believe we can make them quickly and we are entirely committed to doing so."
Parents were invited to a meeting last night to discuss the report with staff and governors at the college.

Head's statement in full and
more reaction– page 5