‘Life changing’ West Thames College judged ‘outstanding’

The feat means 1 in 10 GFE colleges now hold the watchdog's highest grade

The feat means 1 in 10 GFE colleges now hold the watchdog's highest grade

23 Jan 2025, 16:33

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A London college has been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted after inspectors heard of its “life changing” impact on disadvantaged people’s lives.

The watchdog’s report for West Thames College, published today, highlighted a “relentless focus on quality improvement which permeates through all levels of staff”.

It received the accolade in all areas barring apprenticeships, which was judged as ‘good’. This is the first time the college has held Ofsted’s overall top grade.

The achievement means that one in ten general FE colleges currently hold the highest possible judgment.

West Thames College teaches around 1,700 young people, over 1,500 adults who mostly study English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and pre-employment courses, 45 apprentices and 250 students with high needs.

Tracy Aust, West Thames College principal, said the Ofsted judgment “is a true testament to the hard work, dedication and passion of our amazing students, staff, governors and partners”.

She added: “We’ve been on a journey to outstanding but this is by no means the end. We will continue to put our students first, to be ambitious, to have high expectations and to serve the needs of our communities. I am incredibly proud of the diverse, inclusive, successful college that is West Thames.”

Ofsted noted that students “enjoy learning and socialising in highly inclusive, calm and welcoming environments” at the college’s two campuses in Hounslow.

The report praised how students “behave impeccably” and interact with respect and harmony.

Inspectors also recognised how adult learners, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds, “thrive” at the college, describing their experience as “life changing”.

‘A well-deserved reward’

Ofsted’s report commended the college for its “strong” contribution to meeting regional and national skills needs. Inspectors noted that leaders are “proactive and respected partners who play a lead role in the local borough and across west London”.

West Thames has “consistently high achievement rates” and positive destinations, while staff are “proud to work at the college”.

The college’s chair, Stuart McGeoch, said: “Categorisation as outstanding by Ofsted is a well-deserved reward for three years of really hard work by the staff, management and board of West Thames. In that time period, the overriding mantra at every stage has been to focus on the creation of an outstanding student experience and the comments of the Ofsted inspectors make clear that is exactly what has been achieved.”

The success takes the number of general FE colleges with an Ofsted ‘outstanding’ judgment to 15, which is 10 per cent of the 150 colleges that hold a grade with the watchdog. This is up from 7 per cent on August 31, 2024.

From September, Ofsted plans to ditch overall effectiveness grades in FE and introduce new-style report cards. A consultation on the design of the report cards is expected to be launched next week.

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