Ofsted inspectors came to Wyke in February. They carried out what’s called a Focused Monitoring Visit, looking at five themes of work in the College. The report is now available. It says, “At the last inspection the college demonstrated high pass rates and excellent added value on many GCE A level courses. These have been maintained.”

The inspectors were impressed by how students and their experiences are at the centre of everything at the College, saying “In the college there is a strong and central focus on students’ experiences and a commitment to consulting students on teaching, learning, facilities and support…. The college is constantly refining how students’ views can impact on teaching, learning and the curriculum. Students are regularly consulted on how their lessons are going and on teaching and learning preferences. These views are used effectively to develop teaching and learning. Students contributed to the design of the new college buildings.., expressing the desire for a ‘campus feel’ that was more like a university with a ‘wow factor’. This has certainly been achieved and students are very positive about their accommodation.”

Dr Richard Smith, Principal, says that helping students to understand what they have so far achieved and what to do to improve further is central to the success. Inspectors recognised that, “There is a dedicated and committed team of tutors… The college has developed an impressive electronic student tracking and communication system.. Students can see at a glance their performance level and they can respond to teacher and tutor comments. The posting of commendations as well as concerns positively encourages improvement. The college has invested heavily in providing appropriate support for its students, including learning mentors and additional learning-support tutors. This is very much appreciated by students.”

And that, “Students are consulted by their subject teachers about their preferences [and] are also encouraged to evaluate teaching experiments and their impact on learning. In a variety of subject areas, for example, mathematics and biology, their views have had a significant impact on teaching and learning strategies.”

Asked for his favourite feature of the report, Dr Smith said, “It has to be that the word ‘student’ or ‘students’ appears no less than 34 times in this short report – and every one in a wholly positive context. I like that because I think it truly reflects the focus at Wyke. It is good to see the superb results in examinations acknowledged again. Even so, they are only important because they belong to students. It is the student we start with and it is the student who is the point of everything we do. That’s why we consult them so much.”

Dr Ian Taylor, Vice Principal, was struck by the effect on the inspectors “I worked with them throughout the visit and they came in with that poker-faced reasonableness that inspectors have to show on arrival but you could see how impressed they were as they met more and more students and staff. Eventually one of them said, ‘You just keep opening more and more presents for us!’ That was a nice moment.”

The inspectors spent two days questioning students and staff and observing lessons in order to assess progress in five themes of the College’s work. They gave four of the five themes their top rating of “significant progress” and one the second rating of “reasonable progress”.

Chair of Corporation, John Wilson, commented “Governors are delighted to see the hard work of everyone in the College recognised in this report. That work pays dividends year on year. I am very pleased but not in the least surprised to see that the inspectors recognise that, “College staff care deeply about the performance of their students.” We on the Corporation have seen that care expressed in everything they do.”