Staff and students are celebrating at Wiltshire College it maintained its good Ofsted rating.

The college, which has campuses in Chippenham, Lackham, Trowbridge and Salisbury, was subject to a four-day visit in November - its first full inspection in seven years.

The inspection team awarded a good rating, which matched what the college achieved in 2015 and maintained during a shorter inspection in 2018.

Martin Clarke, the chair of the governing body, thanked the college’s “hardworking staff” for “all their good work with our learners to develop their skills and bring them success.”

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Staff and students at the Lackham campus.Staff and students at the Lackham campus. (Image: Wiltshire College)

Principal and CEO Iain Hatte added: “Everybody at the college is delighted with the result. This achievement is a testament to the hard work of all learners and staff across our courses and campuses and the way they have overcome the challenges of returning to normality since the pandemic.

“I am particularly pleased with the recognition for the college’s industry-aligned curriculum plans and our commitment to developing learners who possess the skills that match the workplace needs of the local area.

“As a college, we continue to make encouraging progress and we are already working to improve further to enhance the education experience for all of our learners.”

The college was rated based on their performance in eight categories, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes and personal development.

Inspectors found that Wiltshire College performed at a good level in seven of these areas, but deemed that they required improvement in their provisions for learners with high needs.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Staff and students at the Trowbridge campus.Staff and students at the Trowbridge campus. (Image: Wiltshire College)

In particular, the college was praised for the vocational skills and courses they provide their students with.

The report said: “Leaders and managers have created purposeful vocational curriculums with well-considered progression routes.

“As a result, most learners and apprentices develop the vocational skills they need to move on to their training or career goals. Teachers and trainers carefully select learning activities to help prepare learners and apprentices well to progress straight into a job role.”

Despite this, the college was criticised for their lack of ambition in supporting learners with high needs.

The inspectors found that: “The curriculum for learners with high needs is insufficiently ambitious, and too few learners receive the specialist support they require. As a result, too many learners with high needs make slow progress.”

The result is welcome news for the college, who bounced back from a verdict of requires improvement in 2012 with back-to-back good ratings.