Multiple categories were found ‘outstanding’ as Ofsted revealed a college's overall ‘good’ report.
Inspectors visited West Herts College over two days in April before publishing the result this morning (June 10).
It gave the highest possible mark for ‘personal development', ‘leadership and management’, ‘adult learning programmes’, and ‘provision for learners with high needs’.
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Four areas were found ‘good’: ‘the quality of education’, ‘behaviour and attitudes’, ‘education programmes for young people’, and ‘apprenticeships’. The Hempstead Road college therefore kept the same ‘good’ rating as it was given at its previous inspection in 2021.
Principal and CEO Gill Worgan said: “We are all extremely proud of our inspection grades, the outcomes are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff.
"The feedback from inspectors about the work being done across the college, its impact on local people, businesses and communities, was amazing to hear."
She added: "This Ofsted report is a testament to the success of this work and we’re excited to continue building on our strong contributions.”
Ofsted visited lessons, scrutinised students’ work, asked students and staff for their views, and examined documentation and records.
“Learners develop the skills they need for their future employment, such as teamwork and communication, considerably while at the college,” the report said.
“Most learners gain valuable additional qualifications and specific skills to help them to succeed in their chosen careers.”
Two areas for improvement were identified. The inspection team asked West Herts College to increase the proportion of installation and maintenance electrician apprentices who complete their apprenticeship and achieve merit and distinction grades in their final assessments.
It also said the college needed to continue to improve how teachers prepare learners for external exams on vocational and GCSE mathematics courses.
The college has 5,869 students aged 16 to 18 on study programmes. At the time of the inspection there were 365 apprentices, 1,490 adult learners, and 146 learners with high needs.
Ofsted also found that the college makes a strong contribution to meeting skills needs and students have a good understanding of their intended career as well as the steps needed to get there while they are at West Herts College.
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