Staff and students at Stratford-upon-Avon College have received the results of their latest Ofsted report which acknowledges great improvement and a new era ahead.
This Ofsted report comes at the end of a period of much complexity for the College, and recognises their commitment to rising above the uncertainties and to upholding high standards of provision.
Principal and CEO Andrew Cropley commented: “The past year has been full of uncertainty for the College, but having made the decision to enter into a merger with Solihull College & University Centre, we are now looking forward to a secure future as the proposed merger remains on track for December.
“I accept Ofsted’s findings that the full impact has not yet been felt from some of the improvements we have made but I am delighted that the report recognises that our students benefit from excellent skills development and preparation for their future careers. I am proud of our achievements, in particular of the College staff’s skill and dedication and of our students’ hard work and determination as we continuously strive for improvement. We believe that we are already well on our way to regaining our ‘Good’ status, building on our outstanding creative curriculum. The upcoming merger will accelerate this by combining our established strengths with Solihull’s infrastructure, expertise and investment capacity.”
John Callaghan, Principal and CEO of Solihull College & University Centre, is equally confident of a bright future following the merger of the two Colleges. “Given the difficult financial position the College has faced in recent years, the report was extremely positive and gives us a clear and rapid improvement agenda. It is evident from Ofsted’s findings that Stratford-upon-Avon College has remained committed to maintaining standards of teaching and student experience and the recent leadership changes have really helped in creating stability and achieving this outcome. I very much look forward to a post-merger future in which, by combining our various strengths and areas of expertise, we are able to provide ever higher standards of provision for our local communities. We hope to announce some new curriculum opportunities at the forthcoming Open Events and to follow this up with more detail on our planned investment.”
Anyone interested in finding out more about SUAC’s courses will be welcome at their Open Events on 10th and 11th November. Please visit www.stratford.ac.uk or call the College on 01789 266245.
