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2025 Full Inspection Report

What does the provider do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders are exceptionally ambitious for what each one of their students can achieve. They have established a highly ambitious curriculum that enables students, including those with SEND and high needs, to realise their aspirations. Students make excellent progress from their starting points and achieve highly. They progress to their destinations of choice, including to competitive university courses and higher-level apprenticeships.

Teachers plan curriculum content skilfully so that students gain secure knowledge of their subjects. Teachers in A-level geography first revisit content taught at GCSE, such as regeneration, inequality and globalisation, before moving on to topics such as ‘hazardous earth’, where these themes are applied in context. They incorporate visits and fieldwork to areas such as the Lake District and local areas of urban regeneration to bring to life the geographical concepts and processes that they teach.

Teachers are expert in their use of assessment. They routinely check learning through low-stakes tasks in lessons and more formal assessments at key points throughout the year. They use the outcomes of assessment to provide precise feedback to students, including how to achieve distinctions and A and A* grades, which many students go on to achieve. Students make very effective use of this feedback to improve their work and are very well prepared for their examinations.

Leaders use high needs funding very effectively to plan individualised support for students. Specialist staff, including learning support mentors and cognitive learning teachers, support students with their cognition and processing. They teach reflective practice, which students use to revisit their lesson materials and notes and successfully consolidate their learning. Staff monitor very effectively the progress that students with high needs make. As a result, students with high needs make substantial progress. They develop rapidly their independence, are more able to selfadvocate and make excellent progress from their starting points.

Teachers are highly skilled at integrating English and mathematics into the teaching of their curriculums. In A-level chemistry, students are taught an additional problemsolving module alongside their A level to develop the skills they need to solve complex scientific equations. In A-level history, students receive specialist input on academic writing and referencing. Students in A-level geography use digital data analysis and mapping software to enhance their independent investigation reports.

Staff balance expertly their very high expectations for academic achievement with care for students’ well-being. They meet students before and after key assessment points to ensure that students’ personal study habits are effective and sustainable. They help students to learn from mistakes and support them to be resilient and to persevere in the face of challenge. Students can access a range of counselling services, including cognitive behavioural therapy and life coaching for more specialist support.

Students benefit from a rich and comprehensive enrichment programme which they take part in alongside their studies. They learn new languages and explore new interests such as stock market trading, robotic engineering and beekeeping. Students participate in entrepreneurship projects and environmental action groups through which they develop valuable leadership skills and a deep understanding of important matters such as sustainability.

Staff provide students with very high-quality careers information, advice and guidance. Students receive personalised support in readiness for university and apprenticeship interviews, including coaching and sessions on critical thinking. They attend high-quality work placements and complete employer-set projects to understand more about the world of work.

Leaders have in place a well-established and highly skilled board of governors, with members who share their exacting standards. Governors understand and support very well the strategic direction of the college. They supplement their understanding with frequent visits to the college, where they talk to students, visit lessons and talk to staff. They provide effective support and challenge to leaders to ensure that the college maintains its very high standards.

Leaders pledge their commitment to being exceptional to their staff as well as their students. They trust the professional judgement and expertise of their staff. They afford them the autonomy to plan and teach in line with their specialisms. They offer highly individualised training and support so that staff maintain the very high quality of education for their students. This motivates staff and fosters a sense of professional pride in their practice.

2022 Full Inspection Report

No areas for improvement

2007 Full Inspection Report

Areas for improvement

The college should address:

• the overcrowding of student social areas and in a minority of classrooms
• the use of all available data to monitor aspects of the college’s performance.

2004 Full Inspection Report

What should be improved

• social areas for students
• access to the main building for students with restricted mobility
• arrangements for identifying and supporting students with specific learning needs