Celebrations are underway at South Cheshire College with the announcement of an outstanding Ofsted/ALI inspection report. The college has been awarded the highest possible grade of 'outstanding' in an incredible 13 out of 16 areas inspected.

No fewer than 10 curriculum areas were judged to be outstanding and awarded a grade 1 by the inspectors from the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) and the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI). The 3 remaining curriculum areas were judged to be good*. Quality of Education and Training, Leadership and Management and Support for Students were also seen as outstanding.

With this report, South Cheshire College has achieved the best performance by any inspected college to date. There are about 100 sixth form colleges and 275 Further Education colleges in England. They vary in size, but combined they provide education for over 2.3 million students, of whom about 600,000 are under 19.

And it's the second time the college has been able to claim its position at the top of the class. In 1999, South Cheshire College achieved a magnificent 7 grade 1s and 5 grade 2s under the Further Education Funding Council Inspection, the system that preceded OFSTED and ALI, which were the highest grades achieved in the country by any FE tertiary college.

In 2004, the inspectors said the key strengths of the college are: Outstanding leadership, excellent teaching and learning, high pass rates, high retention rates for many courses, very good accommodation and equipment in most curriculum areas, outstanding support for students, outstanding provision in the majority of curriculum areas, wide range of enrichment opportunities, good curriculum management and excellent governance.

The report says: "Teaching and learning are excellent. For the college as a whole, 84% of observed lessons have good or better teaching and 82% have good or better learning. Almost half of the lessons are very good or outstanding. All these figures are significantly better than the overall figures found by inspectors in colleges in 2002/03." The report continues "The principal provides inspiring leadership. Staff are highly motivated and well informed."

"The college's response to educational and social inclusion is outstanding. The college provides a welcoming and very supportive environment. There is a wide range of courses both on the main campus and within the community which meets most local needs. Excellent teaching and support enable many students from under-represented groups to succeed."

"Students are well motivated, enthusiastic and enjoy their studies. The quality of their written work and practical skills is good. Students are attentive and participate effectively in group work and class discussions."

"Support for students is outstanding. Staff have created a culture which values support, and it is provided sensitively and unobtrusively. The range of services available is excellent. Very good information, advice and guidance are provided to ensure that students choose appropriate courses."

South Cheshire College Principal, Dr David Collins said: "I am obviously delighted with these results which place us right at the top of the colleges providing further education in this country. The results are a reflection of the excellent teamwork by 100% of the staff at South Cheshire College, and the commitment of our enthusiastic and hardworking students. We now look forward to building on the success and continuing to provide first-class education and development opportunities for people in South Cheshire."

View the South Cheshire College Inspection Booklet (PDF document - 1309kb) (Get Acrobat Reader)