INSPECTORS have praised the good teaching, high success rates and expansion of courses and accommodation at Exeter College.

A new report from the Office for Standards in Education says the achievements of students taking A Levels and Level 3 vocational courses at the college have been “consistently above the national rate for the last three years.”

A team of Ofsted inspectors visited the college last month and their findings have just been published.

Officials highlight the good achievements and high standards at Exeter College, concluding: “…teachers are enthusiastic, knowledgeable and well prepared. As a result, learners are motivated, attentive, and participate well in lessons which enable them to make good progress and achieve well.”

Leadership of the College under Principal Richard Atkins during the £25m property redevelopment is praised and described as the “successful management” of a “complex property project” resulting in “high quality learning environments” for students.

Across the college curriculum, there is a “broad range of provision with good progression routes” for all types of students, inspectors noted, with a “good mix of academic and vocational programmes at Levels 2 and 3, including an increasingly popular International Baccalaureate programme”.

The report concludes: “Over the last few years the senior leadership team has successfully overseen an extensive property development project, enrolled more learners, expanded provision and improved success rates for learners.

“Systems to assure the quality of provision have improved and are now good, supported by readily available and reliable data.”

Officials went on to say: “The college’s capacity to improve is good… The ambitious strategic aim to become an outstanding institution is underpinned by good leadership and management.”

Programmes with improved success rates at Exeter College include:

• Long courses at Levels 2 and 3 which have “significantly improved” over the last three years;
• AS Levels: above or around the national rate for the past three years, with learners making “good progress when measured against their starting points”;
• Key skills such as numeracy, ICT, language and literacy;
• Train to Gain programme; and
• Adult and community education.

Inspectors also highlighted:

• advanced practitioners at the college who motivate staff to continue improving teaching and learning
• effective use of information and learning technology in some lessons
• good systems to assess learners’ key skills
• high-quality teaching in the Faculty of Foundation Studies which caters for a wide range of students with learning difficulties
• specialist facilities, especially in engineering, health and care, construction, motor vehicle engineering and art and design
• “very good pastoral and welfare support for learners”, including guidance to ensure learners are on the right course, services for students in need of additional help, enrichment activities and the strong focus on Every Child Matter themes and equality and diversity

Overall, all five areas inspected by Ofsted are rated “good” at Exeter College. The categories are effectiveness of provision, capacity to improve, achievement and standards, quality of provision and leadership and management, which includes a grading for equality of opportunity.

Mr Atkins said: “I am delighted that we achieved such a strong and consistent set of Inspection outcomes across the college’s broad range of provision. This provides us with a strong platform to build upon during the next few years.

“I was particularly pleased that the Inspectors reported that our ambitious building programme enhanced rather than interrupted students’ learning. This report evidences the professional commitment of our staff, all of who provide students with an excellent service.”

Exeter College’s new Chair of Governors Philip Jenkinson said: “I am really pleased the hard work and dedication of the staff and management at Exeter College have been recognised in such a positive way. Having been a governor here for three years, I am always struck by the huge range of courses and training on offer to so many learners in Exeter and the heart of Devon. The Ofsted inspection is another indicator of how seriously Exeter Colleges takes the success and experiences of its students and how we are on the road to great things.”

Inspectors also noted the college had made good progress in addressing weaknesses identified in the last inspection in 2004, particularly in construction provision, accommodation and success rates for work-based learning and key skills.

The college’s senior leadership team have already addressed areas of improvement highlighted in the latest report, such as success rates for learners aged 19 and over, target-setting and developing the curriculum with schools, all measures which inspectors have approved.

Please click here to read the official Ofsted report.