Inadequate appeal rejected by Ofsted

A large London college has had its appeal against an Ofsted inadequate grading thrown out.

LeSoCo, formed through a merger of Lewisham and Southwark colleges in 2012, was warned by inspectors in January about English and maths provision.

However, issuing an appeal, principal Maxine Room argued the criticism had overshadowed the rest of the college’s provision and contributed unfairly to the grade four result. But her appeal was rejected by the education watchdog.

It declined to comment, but a college spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that our appeal was not upheld.

“However, we know that we need to deliver a range of improvements and have been working with pace to deliver on the Post Inspection Quality Action Plan.”

It comes as a re-inspection report by Ofsted this month warned success rates in functional English and maths were still “too low”.

However, it acknowledged the college was working to correct issues.

The college spokesperson said: “We will continue to make improvements to our teaching and learning to ensure that our learners’ success is guaranteed.”