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21 May 2026

Worsening student data is positive sign for Burnley

College dives from ‘number 1’ to 141st after leaders tackle dishonest practices

Anviksha Patel

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Plunging achievement rates are being welcomed at a Lancashire college at the centre of a data manipulation scandal.

Burnley College boasted it was “number one” in the country for achievement rates until an investigation found leaders “misled” students and parents by inflating their data, as reported by Ofsted last July – a day after the college’s principal quit.

The college had submitted inaccurate individualised learner records claiming overall achievement rates of up to 96 per cent – achieved by switching struggling students onto shorter courses.

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